Last week, tenders worth over 17 billion hryvnias were announced through the Prozorro system. The largest and most expensive of them is the project to build a new checkpoint on the Ukrainian-Romanian border in Transcarpathia. Its implementation was entrusted to the Turkish company Onur Construction International for 2 billion hryvnias. But behind the loud name lies an opaque procedure, formal competition, and the risk of blurry estimates.
The checkpoint will appear near the village of Bila Tserkva in the Tyachiv district of Transcarpathia, opposite the Romanian city of Sighetu Marmației. The infrastructure will include:
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6 lanes for passenger cars,
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2 bus lanes,
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6 lanes for trucks.
It is planned that up to 1,000 vehicles will pass through this point daily. Up to 40 border guards and customs officers will work per shift. The contractor must complete the work by 2028.
Only two companies participated in the tender: Onur and Avtomagistral-Pivden. The winning offer was only 2% cheaper. This level of “discount” is a typical sign of agreements or lack of competition in the market.
In addition, Onur will have full control over the entire process, from design to construction. This means that the company will determine what to build and how much it costs — after the contract is approved. This approach leaves minimal room for external control and opens the door to manipulation of estimates.
Currently, there is no publicly available information about the cost of materials, work prices, or a detailed budget. All of this will only become available after the design stage is complete. But the contract has already been signed — and the allocated 2 billion hryvnias will actually become a "ceiling" under which the project will then be tightened.
The construction of a new international checkpoint is a strategically important step that can significantly relieve the western borders of Ukraine. But whether this facility will become another example of inflated estimates and poor quality depends on public control and independent audit. Because without transparency and real competition, large projects remain a convenient tool for squandering budget funds.
