Kyiv Prosecutor’s Office challenges multibillion-dollar contract for construction of Podil bridge
18 December 16:25
The Podil District Prosecutor’s Office of Kyiv has filed a lawsuit to invalidate the contract for the construction of the Podil Bridge Crossing over the Dnipro River in Kyiv. The reason was the discovery of violations during the tender and a significant increase in the cost of construction, reports Komersant ukrainskyi reports citing a report by the Kyiv City Prosecutor’s Office.
According to the prosecutor’s office, the initial cost of the project in 2017 was UAH 4.3 billion, but in six years it has grown to UAH 8.7 billion.
In addition, the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine found that the bidders, including the winner, coordinated their actions. The allegedly independent bidders used the same IP address and device, communicated with each other, and engaged the same authorized representative.
Attempts to appeal the AMCU’s decision by the bidding companies in 2022-2023 were unsuccessful, as the courts of all instances rejected their claims.
Currently, the Kyiv Commercial Court has opened proceedings to invalidate the general contractor agreement between the Kyiv Directorate for the Construction of Road Transport Facilities and a private contractor.
The prosecutor’s office emphasizes that the challenge to the contract is related not only to violations during the tender, but also to the need to control further budget expenditures for the completion of the bridge.
As reported by , Podilskyi Bridge was opened for truck and public transport traffic on December 1 after years of construction.
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Podilskyi Bridge
The history of Podilskyi Bridge dates back to 1986, when the future Podilskyi Bridge crossing, then known as Podilsko-Voskresenskyi Bridge, was included in the Kyiv master plan. In 1988, a feasibility study was created for the project, which was approved by the City Planning Council only on July 25, 1990. The final decision to start construction was made by the Kyiv City Council on April 19, 1993.
However, due to the financial crisis, the construction of the Podil bridge crossing did not begin until December 1, 2003. According to the original plan, the bridge was supposed to be completed by 2008, but the actual timeline was significantly delayed. For example, the installation of the main arch, which consists of six segments, began only in 2011, and the last elements were installed in 2014. The first stage of the bridge was opened to traffic only on December 1, 2023, 20 years after the start of work.
The construction process was accompanied by numerous scandals. In 2011, an accident occurred during the installation of the arch: a floating crane, the Zakhary LK-600, broke down, temporarily halting the work. In 2020, the theft of budget funds worth more than 80 million hryvnias was discovered, as well as conflicts over the dismantling of summer cottages and violations of the rights of residents of nearby areas. In addition, construction equipment was blocked several times during the work, protesting the impact of the bridge on the local environment.
The project has also been criticized for ineffective management and numerous changes. For example, in 2019, an alternative approach plan to the bridge was presented, which was intended to reduce the burden on the surrounding infrastructure. However, it was never implemented. Despite the opening of the first phase, the functionality of the bridge remains limited, and work continues late even in 2024.
In addition to the rising cost of construction, the concept of the bridge has also changed – the bridge built today bears little resemblance to the original design. Many urban planning experts argue that in its current form and with the current metropolitan interchanges, the bridge practically does not solve any of the city’s logistical problems.
Thus, Podilskyi Bridge has become a kind of symbol of Ukrainian and Kyiv mismanagement and corruption.
