The Recovery Agency denies involvement in a controversial 9 billion UAH Bukovel road project, as the regional head resigns over unauthorized tender announcements.
The Recovery Agency distances itself from plans to finance resort infrastructure.
The head of the Recovery and Infrastructure Development Service in Ivano-Frankivsk region has submitted a resignation amid a high-profile scandal over plans to allocate around 9 billion hryvnias from the state budget for the construction and repair of roads leading to the Bukovel resort.
This was reported on Tuesday, December 9, by the head of the Recovery and Infrastructure Development Agency, Serhiy Sukhomlyn, as covered by ZN.ua. Since April 2023, the Service had been headed by Lyubomyr Semaniv.
The controversial project overall covers two key components, with potential funding totaling 9 billion UAH:
Repair of the Ivano-Frankivsk–Bystrytsia road (Nadvirna–Bystrytsia section). This 22 km section was planned to be repaired at a cost of 2.4 billion UAH. The contractor chosen is the company “PBS,” which is known to be connected to the family of former MP Oleksandr Shevchenko, founder of Bukovel.
Construction of a new mountain road Bystrytsia–Polianytsia.
The estimated cost of this new construction is 6.6 billion UAH. The Recovery Service in Ivano-Frankivsk region recently announced a tender for the development of project documentation.
In other words, the total amount that sparked public controversy is 9 billion hryvnias for infrastructure leading to a private resort.
Serhiy Sukhomlyn, head of the Recovery Agency, commented on the situation, denying any involvement of the central body in the most controversial plans.
Regarding the T-09-06 road (Nadvirna–Bystrytsia), Sukhomlyn noted that it does not lead directly to Bukovel. According to him:
“The project was developed last year. This year, 75 million UAH were allocated because requests were previously received from 17 communities and Naftogaz: 15 emergency bridges, retaining walls, and repairs of 5 km of road. No funds are planned for this purpose next year,” he wrote on Facebook.
Regarding the road from Bystrytsia to the resort (a 6.6 billion UAH project), the official explained:
“The technical and economic justification was developed by the community at its own expense. The Recovery Service in Ivano-Frankivsk region announced a tender for design. This was not coordinated with the Agency. The head of the Service is submitting a resignation. No funds are allocated for this year or next. And this project was not submitted by the Agency.”
Thus, the head of the regional Recovery Service resigned, acknowledging that the tender announcement for the expensive mountain road project was unauthorized.
It is worth noting that the owners of Bukovel have ambitious expansion plans. They intend to build two new resorts in the Carpathians – one in Ivano-Frankivsk region and another in Zakarpattia. These facilities are expected to extend the existing resort. In addition, the Bukovel center is scheduled for a major reconstruction, set to begin in 2026.
Earlier reports indicated that, during the full-scale war in Ukraine, the family of Ihor Hrabets, deputy head of the Kyiv regional prosecutor’s office, and Svitlana Hrabets, a judge of the Kyiv regional commercial court, purchased elite hotel complexes in Bukovel worth over one million dollars.
