Journalists uncovered inflated prices in a bid for the renovation of the "Karpaty" tourist base in Lviv Oblast

According to estimates by investigative journalists, the municipal utility may overpay more than 3 million hryvnias. This was reported by the publication "Nashi Hroshi. "

What is this about?

It concerns the renovation of a children’s tourist camp located in the village of Kam’yanka near Skole. Only one bidder participated in the tender – the company “Budprime.” The bidding took place on August 13, and on September 8, this company was declared the winner.

Budprime proposed to construct four modular buildings by the end of 2027, install internal water supply and sewer systems, heating and ventilation, electrical networks and lighting, and a fire alarm system. It is noteworthy that Budprime initially proposed to carry out this work for 42.35 million hryvnias – that is, only 20,000 hryvnias less than the starting price – and the completion date was pushed back to the end of 2027 – one year later than previously planned. As a result of the tender, the Lviv Regional Council’s municipal enterprise “Technical Supervision” signed a contract worth over 50.8 million hryvnias.

In a comment to ZAXID.NET, Maria Zhelisko, acting director of the “Technical Supervision” municipal enterprise, attributed the increase in repair costs to rising wages in Ukraine.

Changes were made to Resolution No. 526 of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine dated April 24, 2026. In the previous cost estimate, the salary for workers on the site was 18,000 hryvnias; according to the resolution, the salary must now be 42,000 hryvnias. Therefore, we were forced to revise the cost estimate– she noted.

The director also explained that the contract with the winning bidder was not signed immediately due to a lack of funds. According to her, 17 million hryvnias had been allocated for the project at the beginning of the year; however, due to amendments to the Cabinet of Ministers’ resolution and the introduction of a new procedure for price analysis, funding for the project was revised. As a result, by the time the winning bidder was selected, only 500,000 hryvnias remained for this project, which was insufficient to register the contract. The official explained that she was waiting for the funds to be reallocated. After the funding for the project was increased, more than 4 million hryvnias became available; the contract was signed for this amount, and the remaining funding is planned to be allocated in 2027.

Investigative journalists claim that an analysis of the cost estimate for the work to be funded from the local budget indicates that material prices were inflated by more than 3 million hryvnias. As an example, the publication cites a 3×2.5-millimeter VVGng-LS cable priced at 200 hryvnias per meter, while other companies sell the same cable for 80–85 hryvnias per meter – that is, 2.5 times cheaper. The VVGng-LS 5×4-millimeter cable was budgeted at 522 hryvnias per meter, while market prices range from 195 to 200 hryvnias per meter. The project also includes fire-rated doors, which were budgeted at 11,082 hryvnias per square meter, and moisture-resistant FK plywood 21 millimeters thick at over 1.7 thousand hryvnias per square meter, while market prices range from 849 to 984 hryvnias per square meter.

After the article was published, the Lviv Regional Council announced that it would review the cost estimate, noting that if prices were found to be unreasonably inflated, the estimate would be adjusted.

Acting Chairman Yuriy Kholod instructed the Department of Jointly Owned Property Management and the municipal enterprise “Technical Supervision” to re-examine not only the items cited by journalists but the entire cost estimate and provide a comparison with current market prices. The regional council’s position is simple: if the review confirms that the materials can be purchased at a lower price, the cost estimate must be adjusted. Not a single hryvnia of budget funds will be paid at unreasonably inflated pricesthe statement reads.

Incidentally, to participate in the tender, bidders were required to submit a fully executed similar contract covering the period from 2022 to 2026.

The documents were required to include confirmation of the work performed, specifically:

• wall/roof cladding with sandwich panels;
• installation of windows, doors, and flooring;
• internal heating and ventilation;
• internal water supply and sewer systems;
• internal electrical work.

Among the requirements was that the company’s revenue for 2025 had to be at least 100% of the expected purchase price.

In a comment, Maria Zhelisko rejected journalists’ accusations of inflated prices.

“If there were any violations regarding prices, the financial audit will uncover everything, and we will have certain observations. Well, I don’t know – financial monitoring hasn’t been conducted yet, and we don’t know if it will proceed. So far, there have been no comments regarding price violations. Well, we’ll see. Right now, this is very strictly controlled,” added Maria Zhelisko.

Separately, the official noted that prices on commercial companies’ websites do not always reflect the current cost of goods, as they may not be updated for a long time.

As a reminder, in late March 2025, the Lviv Regional Council began a large-scale renovation of the “Karpaty” municipal tourist complex. However, the tender for this work was announced on May 5, 2025. As a result, “Elitbudpro” LLC was selected as the winner and committed to completing the necessary work by the end of 2026 for 58.7 million hryvnias. However, in March 2026, the municipal enterprise “Technical Supervision” terminated its contract with “Elitbudpro” LLC, having paid 19 million hryvnias for the work completed up to that point. The municipal enterprise announced a new tender on July 29, 2026.

What is known about the winning company?

According to data from the YouControl analytical system, “Budprime” was registered in 2007 in Lviv. The primary activity of the company, which has a registered capital of 500,000 hryvnias, is the construction of residential and non-residential buildings. Mykhailo Rushchyshyn is the company’s director and owner.

In March 2026, the company won a tender worth 222 million hryvnias for the major renovation of the theoretical sciences building at Lviv National Medical University on Shimzeriv Street. In 2024, the firm was awarded a contract worth 18.3 million hryvnias to renovate the LNMU university shooting range into a facility for physical education and sports rehabilitation for war veterans and wounded military personnel, and also renovated individual classrooms at LNMU itself and at the university hospital.

Budprime also built a school in the village of Lybochora in the Lviv region, equipped a radiation shelter at the emergency hospital of Lviv’s First City Medical District, and collaborated with PJSC “Lvivoblenergo” and Lviv Municipal Utility Company “Lvivteploenergo,” as well as a number of village councils and municipal institutions in the Lviv region.