The construction of a shelter for the Shostka Vocational and Technical Education Center has once again found itself at the center of a scandal due to a suspicious overestimation of the cost of materials. The new contract for additional work worth UAH 11.99 million includes a price for natural sand that is twice the market price. According to journalists, the potential overpayment for this item alone reaches UAH 3 million.
This is reported by "Nashi Hroshy", referring to data from the "Prozorro" system and state monitoring.
On November 13, an educational institution subordinate to the Ministry of Education concluded an agreement with LLC “Ukrainian Construction Company “N.O.V.A.” for additional work on the construction of a shelter for UAH 11.99 million. This is the second attempt to draw up such an agreement: the previous agreement, signed in July, was terminated in October without payment.
Construction of the shelter for 200 people began after a tender in December 2024, when N.O.V.A. won the bid for UAH 66.44 million. Journalists even then discovered inflated prices for steel and concrete, which could have led to an overpayment of more than UAH 7 million.
The current estimate again raises questions. In the final statement of resources, the largest expense item is natural ordinary sand at UAH 6.65 million. The contractor estimated it at UAH 2,016/cubic m (including VAT, excluding delivery), while:
• according to September monitoring by the State Research Institute of Reconstruction and Development (NIRI), the maximum price in Ukraine is UAH 1,100/cubic meter;
• in the Sumy region – UAH 617/cubic meter;
• the Avtobetonbud company offers UAH 540–1,075/cubic meter;
• in the estimates of other facilities in the region, sand is taken into account at UAH 675–1,020/cubic meter.
The difference in prices creates a risk of overpaying at least UAH 3 million for just one item.
Despite this, the contract is firm and does not provide for adjustments in case of price fluctuations. The current work is financed under the Ukraine Facility program.
The institution is headed by Tetyana Lazareva, responsible for procurement is Natalia Borysenko.
LLC "Ukrainian Construction Company "N.O.V.A."" is managed by Hanna Bumazhenko, the owner is Oleksandr Havrylenko. Before him, the company was owned by a well-known businessman and media owner in Shostka, Oleksandr Yaryga. The company actively receives budget contracts: since 2019 - for more than 367 million UAH.
The situation with the construction of the shelter in Shostka is not unique. Earlier, in a tender for the construction of a school shelter in Samara, journalists discovered inflated prices for concrete, reinforcement, and other materials.
