While the country is at war and looking for resources for the front, the traditional autumn tender season is underway in Kyiv. Municipal enterprises are actively spending budget funds - from major repairs of public squares to purchasing booklets and sociological surveys.
Squares and parks are the main autumn expense item
This year, the city government is once again generously financing the “renewal” of the capital’s green areas. In the Svyatoshynskyi district, a major renovation of the square on the corner of Beresteyskoho Avenue and Chornobylska Street has begun. The contract will be awarded to LLC “Ukrainian Production and Construction Alliance “Center”, and the cost of the work is 8.3 million hryvnias. The renovation is scheduled to be completed by December 20.
The same company will renovate the sports and playground in the Košice park in Darnytsia. The work costs 4.8 million hryvnias, and the company became the only participant in the tender.
"Kyivzelenbud" meanwhile orders the design of video surveillance systems and the installation of "panic buttons" in public squares - in the Darnytskyi district and on Beresteyskyi Avenue. The cost of such work ranges from 20 to 30 thousand hryvnias. The contractor was the municipal "Informatika".
In addition, UAH 21.7 thousand will be paid for the examination of the documentation for the improvement of Dmytro Kotsiubayl (Da Vinci) Park, and UAH 57 thousand for a similar examination of the park on Prychna Street in the Obolonskyi district.
Metropolitan: details, booklets and the shadow of Braginsky
Among the major customers is the Kyiv Metro Enterprise, which purchases components for rolling stock. Just one “central suspension beam for cars” costs 7.9 million hryvnias. But something else is surprising: the company ordered 20 thousand presentation booklets worth 91.2 thousand hryvnias from Viktor Khilchuk, an individual entrepreneur.
Why do subway users need booklets is an open question, especially given that the subway's revenues for the first half of 2024 amounted to UAH 2.58 billion, and expenses amounted to UAH 4.53 billion. And the investigation into the former head of the subway, Viktor Braginsky, who fled Ukraine after corruption scandals, is still ongoing.
Research "for the city hall": millions for sociology
The Municipal Research Institution “Research Institute of Socio-Economic Development of the City,” headed by Serhiy Pavlovsky, is not far behind. This October, the institute announced a tender for 785,000 hryvnias for a survey on “Kyiv residents’ perception of European and Euro-Atlantic integration.”
Previously, this institution has already conducted a number of studies:
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"Assessment of the quality of service of ASCs" - 1.21 million UAH,
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"European integration sentiments of Kyiv residents" — 708 thousand UAH,
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"Quality of life of the capital's youth" — 387 thousand UAH,
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"Media consumption of Kyiv residents" — 530 thousand UAH,
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"Gender Aspects of Human Capital Development During War" — 524 thousand UAH.
The Kyiv City State Administration was unable to explain how the results of these studies actually help the city. Serhiy Pavlovsky replied that “the conclusions are sent to customers in accordance with the established procedure,” but without specifying whether anyone uses them at all.
Furniture, roof and cameras
The Kyiv City Council is also keeping up with the "autumn" procurement.
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Repairing the roof of the building at 36 Khreshchatyk will cost UAH 1.6 million.
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CCTV cameras for the Kyiv City Council itself — another 85 thousand UAH.
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The new Statik executive desk will cost 58.4 thousand UAH, although a similar one can be found on the market for 53 thousand.
Despite the war, when most Ukrainian cities are cutting spending on non-priority needs, Kyiv continues to finance repairs to public squares, order booklets, furniture, and sociological research.
The autumn procurement season in the capital is not yet over — new contracts and tenders are ahead, which seem to be in no way inferior to the pre-war ones in scale and appetite.
