A large-scale post-war program to rebuild Ukraine’s infrastructure should be based on FIDIC contracts, says Mykola Tymofeev, CEO of Ukraine’s largest infrastructure construction company, Avtomagistral-Pivden.
“International donors prefer FIDIC contracts because they provide for a clear division of responsibilities between the client and the contractor, prevention of corruption risks, transparent dispute resolution practices, and professional arbitration. The investor is confident that the financed contract will be implemented on time – there will be no legal conflicts or lengthy litigation,” he said during the FIDIC Users Conference in London.
FIDIC is the largest international organization in the field of construction consulting, which unites more than a million practicing consulting engineers in 104 countries. The main goal of FIDIC is to regulate the relationship between the client and the construction contractor through standard forms of contracts. Infrastructure construction contracts financed by the World Bank, the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) are executed under FIDIC model contracts.
The main topics of the conference in London included new practices for appointing dispute resolution boards, the use of AI technologies for tender preparation and project management, and reducing carbon emissions in construction projects. The event also included the awarding of the winners of the FIDIC Contract Users’ Awards 2024.
According to Mykola Tymofeev, Avtomagistral-Pivden is the only contractor from Ukraine invited to the conference. More than a decade ago, Avtomagistral-Pivden representatives became the first Ukrainian certified FIDIC consulting engineers. Currently, there are more than 20 such engineers in the company. FIDIC membership requires compliance with the FIDIC Charter on the norms of professional ethics and behavior of consulting engineers.
“The fact that we were invited to the conference is further evidence of the international recognition of our company, confirmation of the high professional level of our consulting engineers. “Avtomagistral-Pivden works under FIDIC contracts both in other countries and on international projects in Ukraine. But we are ready to implement all Ukrainian infrastructure projects under the same FIDIC rules to stop pressure and interference in our work from law enforcement agencies that do not exist in any other European country once and for all,” Tymofeev summarized.
He also noted that almost all of the experts with whom he spoke at the conference hope that next year our country will be able to launch a large-scale recovery program with international support. “Which, of course, should be based on FIDIC contracts,” Timofeev said.
Avtomagistral-Pivden LLC has been on the market since 2004. It designs and builds highways, bridges, interchanges, airfield complexes, and hydraulic structures. The company’s owner is listed in Opendatabot as Oleksandr Boyko. According to the financial results for 2023, the company’s net profit amounted to UAH 624.9 million, and revenue was UAH 8.215 billion.