Metro to Vynohradar: half a year of construction completed, half a percent done
14 February 09:14
EXCLUSIVE
The construction of the Vynohradar subway in Kyiv is not progressing very quickly, as evidenced by the pace of disbursement of funds by the contractor. Komersant ukrainskyi received data from the Kyiv City State Administration in response to an information request.
After a high-profile scandal with the previous contractor’s improper performance, on August 14, 2024, the city authorities signed a new construction contract with a new contractor, Avtostrada. The cost of construction increased by UAH 8 billion, reaching a total of almost UAH 14 billion, or more precisely, UAH 13,956,843,711.13.
The contract was signed for a period of 30 months, until December 30, 2026. During this time, the contractor has to build a subway section with two stations – Mostytska and Prospekt Pravdy. The said avenue, by the way, has already been renamed to European Union Avenue, but the name of the station has not changed in the documents.
asked the Kyiv City State Administration about the progress of fulfilling the terms of the contract, as well as what changes were made to it and whether the deadlines for its fulfillment had changed.
The city administration replied that both Kyiv Metro and the contractor Avtostrada
“ensure the fulfillment of the terms of the contract… in full compliance with the current legislation.”
At the same time, we no longer know all the terms of the contract, as additional agreements were signed to it:
- Additional Agreement No. 1 dated August 21, 2024 to clarify the distribution of work financing.
- Supplemental Agreement No. 2 dated 21.11.2024 to adjust the schedule of works execution and completion.
- Supplemental Agreement No. 3 dated 13.12.2024 to adjust the Schedule of Works Performance and Completion, the Work Schedule.
- Additional Agreement No. 4 dated 12/26/2024 on adjustments to the Work Schedule, Financing Plan, Work Execution and Completion Schedule, and Project Documentation Transfer Schedule.
The KCSA wrote about these agreements in its response to the appeal, but did not specify their details, saying only that the deadline for completing the work had not changed. That is, the contractor has to hand over the construction on December 30, 2026.
The KCSA also reported that
“currently, the Contractor has been paid UAH 82,841,104.48 for the work performed.”
Thus, after six months of the contract, which is 20% of the total period of work, the contractor has used only 0.59% of the funds provided for by the contract.
Under the terms of the contract, the contractor is paid monthly upon completion of the work. Therefore, it is quite possible to assume that the amount of money spent on construction correlates with the amount of work performed. In this case, Kyiv residents and visitors are likely to face another postponement of the contract.
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Metro to Vynohradar: one of the most scandalous construction projects in the capital
The project “Metro to Vynohradar” envisages the extension of the green line of the Kyiv metro from the Syrets station to the Vynohradar residential area. Construction began in 2019 with a plan to complete the first phase (Mostytska and Prospekt Pravdy stations) by November 2021.
However, the project faced numerous delays. The general contractor, Kyivmetrobud, asked to postpone the completion date to May 2023 due to lockdowns. Despite this, Mayor Vitali Klitschko promised to open at least one station by the end of 2021.
At the same time, financial irregularities were discovered. According to the State Audit Service’s audit, in 2018-2019, Kyivmetrobud received advance payments of UAH 2.59 billion, but did not use them for their intended purpose. Instead of continuing construction, the contractor placed part of the funds on deposit accounts, including UAH 1.7 billion with Ukrgasbank. In addition, a significant portion of the budget money was used to pay for audit, legal and consulting services, financial risk insurance, and financial assistance to other companies. The funds were practically not allocated for construction. And the contractor received UAH 139 million in interest from the deposit.
Nevertheless, at the end of 2019, Kyiv Metro transferred an additional UAH 1.41 billion to the contractor, of which only UAH 44.1 million was spent.
Due to delays in construction, the Kyiv City State Administration was forced to terminate the contract with Kyivmetrobud. A new contract was signed with Avtostrada. The construction will cost more than twice as much – it will cost UAH 14 billion instead of the originally planned UAH 6 billion.
By the time the new contract was signed, a right turnaround tunnel of about 1,250 meters between Mostytska and Syrets stations had been built.
