The Department of Road Economy of the Lviv Regional Military Administration is implementing over 50 million euros of budget funds allocated for road repairs

The Department of Road Management of the Lviv Regional Military Administration is using budget funds allocated for the maintenance and development of roads.

This information reported by Telegram channels.

According to the financial plan for 2023, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine earmarked over 2 billion hryvnias (approximately 50.4 million euros) for the development of road infrastructure. However, investigations reveal that the Department of Road Management of the Lviv Regional Military Administration spent 1,524,323,574 hryvnias.

Examining data from Prozorro, journalists found that a significant portion of contracts was awarded to private enterprises “ROMA” and “SHLYAHOVIK-T.” Moreover, the total amounts of these contracts exceeded the allocated budget.

Regarding “ROMA,” six contracts were signed with the company totaling 1,141,251,999 hryvnias. The founder of the company is Roman Demchin, a member of the “European Solidarity” party. It’s worth noting that the company is under criminal investigation as of September 2, 2022, for embezzlement of budget funds during the construction of road protective layers.

For instance, contract 104-10/23 dated October 25, 2023, worth 45,541,764 hryvnias, and contract 102-10/23 dated November 2, 2023, worth 69,999,996 hryvnias as of December 1, 2023, remain unutilized.

Interestingly, contract 48-12/22 dated December 30, 2022, worth 913,785,342 hryvnias, has only been half-implemented, amounting to 325,722,597 hryvnias.

With “SHLYAHOVIK-T,” the Department signed 10 contracts totaling 6,168,141,701 hryvnias. Two contracts, totaling 3.2 billion hryvnias, were signed in March and received media attention. According to these contracts, the company is obligated until 2025 to eliminate potholes and cracks on roads, maintain road shoulders, clear snow, and replace road signboards.

The Odessa-based company “Avtomagistral-Pivden” is also executing the project “Reconstruction of the bridge crossing the Western Bug River in the city of Sokal” under contract 61-07/23 dated July 26, 2023, amounting to 357,000,000 hryvnias. This enterprise has been involved in both economic and criminal proceedings for many years.

It’s noteworthy that the infrastructure of the Lviv region suffered relatively less during the war. However, it’s possible that these multi-billion budgets allocated for roads will take years to be fully utilized.