The construction of the Podilskyi bridge over the Dnieper River in Kyiv, which has been ongoing for more than six years, has become a symbol of large-scale costs and numerous violations. During this time, the cost of the project has increased from the initial estimates of 4.3 billion hryvnias to 8.7 billion hryvnias. And this, as experts note, is not yet the final amount.
“It has been established that in April 2017, the KP “Directorate for the Construction of Road and Transport Facilities of Kyiv” and a private company concluded a general contracting agreement for the construction of the Podilskyi bridge crossing worth over UAH 4.3 billion. Over the course of 6 years, the parties concluded additional agreements that increased the term of the contract and its price. As of December 2024, over UAH 8.7 billion had been paid under the contract,” the prosecutor’s office explained the essence of the case.
In addition, the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine established that 2 participants in the tender for the construction (including the winner) coordinated their actions back in 2017. "So, the tender participants used the same IP address and one device, communicated with each other, and involved the same authorized person. Thus, the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine concluded that the companies that participated in the tender have common interests and relationships," the report says.
It is noted that during 2022-2023, these societies tried to appeal the ACMU's decision in the courts, but courts of all instances refused to satisfy these demands.
Having verified all the facts of the violations and taking into account the need to complete the bridge, which will continue to require expenditures from the budget, the prosecutor's office is demanding through the court to declare the general contract between the KP "Directorate for the Construction of Road and Transport Facilities of Kyiv" and the private company that has been building the bridge since 2017 invalid.
