The Kyiv region continues to build defensive fortifications in the ATO zone. The latest tranche of funds was sent to the general contractor a month ago. Meanwhile, most of the construction workers have not received a penny for their work and are forced to survive in the east using their own money. Adding to the confusion is the fact that, despite the existence of an official contractor, generous mayor's offices and regional state administrations continue to deliver equipment and supplies to the defensive ramparts, sincerely believing that the construction is a public undertaking.
More money for Altis Holding
As KV has learned, the Kyiv Regional State Administration's Capital Construction Department signed a second contract on August 19 of this year for the construction of support points in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions. The total contract amount is UAH 31,278,630. The general contractor is Infrobud, a company headed by Oleksandr Reva, former director of the Kyiv construction giant Altis LLC.
In addition, KV discovered that the companies Infrobud, Altis LLC, and the construction giant Altis-Holding are related entities registered at the same legal address.
As a reminder, Altis Holding is considered a highly experienced developer in the use of public funds. For many years, the company has received government contracts for the renovation and reconstruction of train stations (including the Kyiv Railway), public squares (including Pochtovaya Square in Kyiv), cultural facilities (including the Mystetskyi Arsenal), and work for law enforcement agencies. The company also made a name for itself in the construction of Euro 2012 facilities. Rumors also circulate that Boris Kolesnikov, the notorious "friend of Akhmetov," once had a hand in the holding's activities.
For reference, it should be noted that the founder and director of Altis, Oleksandr Glimbovsky, is also the deputy chairman of the board of directors of the Confederation of Builders of Ukraine, headed by Lev Partskhaladze. Lev Partskhaladze is the first deputy head of the Kyiv Regional State Administration and the curator of the Kyiv Regional State Administration's Capital Construction Department.
According to KV, before receiving the next payment from the Department in August of this year, Inforbud had already completed work on the construction of the defense line in the amount of UAH 26,467,000.
Why pay more?
Meanwhile, experts are increasingly voicing the opinion that money may be wasted, and that some builders may not even receive payment for their work.
"We've built three lines of defense in the Mariupol area. That's a lot of money, but the Ministry of Defense, which commissioned the work, hasn't yet accepted a single line of defense. They're not happy with the location where it's all being built. Many contractors haven't been paid for their work. They've done something that no one needs, because these defensive embankments aren't used by the military," noted former Ukrainian Defense Ministry spokesman Oleksiy Dmytrashkovsky.
The Kyiv Regional State Administration has repeatedly stated that nearly the entire Kyiv region has volunteered to help build the defensive embankment in the ATO zone. Specifically, district state administrations and mayor's offices in the Kyiv region have received patriotic orders to send construction equipment to the ATO zone.
As Vasilkov Mayor Sergei Sabov explained in an interview with KV, under a certain official general contractor, who received tens of millions from the budget, First Deputy Chairman of the Kostanay State Administration (KOGA), Partskhaladze, tirelessly ordered local officials to send construction crews to the ATO zone.
"Local leaders were instructed to assemble special teams from their territories, supply them with tools, materials, and food, and send them off to build the defense line. People started complaining, saying, 'But there's a regionally designated contractor, with budget funding...' They asked: 'Will he be subcontracting with other regional builders and, in fact, will he be paid for his services?' Then Partskhaladze said something like: 'There's a war going on in the country, we must all work for victory, so if there are any problems with paying the builders' wages or other expenses, the local authorities should shoulder them.' I didn't understand why the general contractor should be paid in that case," Sabov said.
The words of the Vasylkiv mayor are confirmed by other official representatives of territorial communities of the Kyiv region interviewed by KV.
As Ukrainian MP Oleksandr Marchenko (VO "Svoboda", Bila Tserkva) told KV, a separate legal entity, Kamenyar LLC, was involved as a subcontractor on behalf of the city of Bila Tserkva during the construction process, providing its equipment and employees. According to KV, this construction company was previously registered to Mr. Marchenko himself and was expected to receive UAH 9 million for the work.
"The main contractor hasn't been paid yet, nor have the on-site contractors. The work has been completed, but they won't be paid until the Ministry of Defense signs the completion certificates," said Oleksandr Marchenko. He added that the Bila Tserkva builders have received their pay, which can't be said for other districts and cities in the Kyiv region that participated in the construction.
For example, as reported by the Kyiv Regional State Administration press service, just a week ago, construction workers from Pereyaslav-Khmelnytskyi returned from the ATO zone. According to the city's mayor, Taras Kostin, they returned empty-handed.
"No one has paid them yet, despite the promise of 400 hryvnias per day. The construction workers are living there at their own expense. The mayor's office purchased equipment, and I gave them personal funds for minimal expenses so they could at least survive there, with the understanding that they would return it when the Ministry of Defense accepted the certificate of completion and paid for the work," Taras Kostin, head of the Pereyaslav-Khmelnytskyi City Council, told KV, noting that several of his fellow residents are still there, uncertain whether they will receive payment for their work.
Who's paying for the banquet?
According to expert Konstantin Novopolsky, the equation of "who built, what they built, and who will receive the money" is missing several variables.
"The situation is twofold. On the one hand, there are facts documented in the State Procurement Bulletin suggesting funding for a structure close to Altis-Holding. On the other hand, there are numerous subcontractor organizations, the level of whose involvement in the construction is unclear. Due to the lack of information, for now I'm left with the impression that someone will get the money, but the men gathered in the villages with axes and lard-filled cans are likely to be left with nothing. The Ministry of Defense, however, refuses to accept their work. In short, it's the same old Ukrainian rake—only a bitter pretext," says Konstantin Novopolsky.
Meanwhile, the publication has not yet been able to obtain any intelligible response from the authorities to shed light on the story.
Lev Partskhaladze, the first deputy head of the KOGA responsible for the construction of the defensive embankment, declined to comment to KV on the situation, and the official's office decided not to respond to an editorial request sent to the first vice-governor more than two weeks ago.
A high-level official decided not to publicize information about what work Infrobud will be carrying out under the latest contract, what additional resources from the capital region are being brought in for construction, and what functions they perform.
Furthermore, Lev Partskhaladze's subordinates failed to answer the question of whether Infobud LLC has the right to engage subcontractors, whether such contracts exist, and what the final construction cost is. Furthermore, the role of Infobud itself in the construction process remains a mystery, and whether the Kyiv region builders involved will be reimbursed for their hard-earned money.
PS
The KyivVlast editorial team still hopes to receive answers from Lev Partskhaladze to all of the above questions, as it sincerely believes that openness and candor from the authorities are not only a requirement of the times, but also a panacea for misinformation and allegations of corruption.
In topic: Lev Partskhaladze: The Glamorous Builder of Kyiv Politics
Oksana Melnik, KyivVlast
Subscribe to our channels in Telegram, Facebook, Twitter, VC — Only new faces from the section CRYPT!