The Capital Construction Department has not yet decided how to rebuild Lyceum №51 in Mykolaiv: donors will be offered both the renovation and new-build projects

In Mykolaiv, the project to reconstruct the destroyed Lyceum № 51 is promised to be completed in May. However, the city authorities have not yet decided how to restore the building — donors will be offered both options: reconstruction of the existing building and a complete new build.

This was reported in a comment to NikVesti by Oleksii Savchuk, head of the Capital Construction Department.

As is known, the city authorities have drawn up plans for the new construction of Lyceum №51 — the cost of the work amounts to 1 billion hryvnias. However, the state, which had promised to fund this work, has refused to finance the project. Instead, the city authorities are currently developing another project — this time for the reconstruction of the educational institution.

«Next week, the designer will make an additional visit with their specialists to inspect several areas where cracks were present even before the arrival at this school. They will further investigate the best way to localise and repair them.

In fact, by the end of this month, we should already be submitting the project for expert review. In other words, we are effectively in the final stage and are already preparing information to seek extra-budgetary funds to finance the implementation of this project,» said Oleksii Savchuk.

According to him, the city is considering both the option of new construction and the renovation of the ruined school, and plans to present both solutions to potential partners.

«I was talking about reconstruction, not new construction. As for extra-budgetary funds, we are preparing proposals for both new construction and reconstruction. As they say, whichever option comes first, we will be happy with it. The most important thing is to resume the educational process at this institution,» he said.

At the same time, the final cost of the project is currently being finalised as the budget is being refined, clarified Oleksii Savchuk.

«I would answer that question a little later, given that the cost estimate is still being finalised. And, secondly, new resolutions have been issued by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine regarding cost estimates — all expenses are calculated differently. It’s a bit tricky to get to grips with,» he said.

Earlier, NikVesti reported that in Mykolaiv, there are plans to develop another project for Lyceum №51, which was destroyed by shelling — this time for its reconstruction.

A “NikVesti” journalist asked whether this was in line with the conclusion of the Technical Council of the Capital Construction Department regarding the future of the destroyed school building. At the time, it was stated that the building was beyond repair and required only demolition and new construction.

Instead, the head of the Capital Construction Department, Oleksii Savchuk, stated that before developing the second project — this time for the reconstruction of the school — the contractor would carry out a technical survey of the damaged building to determine whether it is suitable for restoration.

Prior to this, the city authorities had already commissioned a design for the new «golden» lyceum at a cost of 6.3 million hryvnias, under which building the school from scratch would cost over 1 billion hryvnias.

Read the NikVesti article «This is our home». How does the ruined Lyceum №51 teach its pupils, and is it worth waiting for its reconstruction?

Mykolaiv Lyceum №51

As is known, building a new lyceum will cost 1 billion hryvnias, Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych has announced. 6.3 million hryvnias have been allocated from the city budget to commission the design for the new building.

The mayor also said that international donors would not provide such funds, and there is no provision for them in the local or state budgets.

Although the mayor has announced the preliminary cost of building the lyceum, there is currently no finalised design. It was supposed to have been developed a year ago — by summer 2024. However, the development process has been delayed — the contractor promised to complete it by the end of March 2025, but once again failed to do so.

Ukrainian MP Ihor Kopytin has spoken out against the idea of building a new lyceum. He believes that the destroyed building should be rebuilt, as this would cost around 30 million hryvnias.

At the same time, Oleksii Savchuk, head of the capital construction department at Mykolaiv City Council, stated that the city would «take measures» to build a new Lyceum №51.

The construction of Lyceum №51 in Mykolaiv was previously included in a list of five projects in the Mykolaiv region for which 667.9 million hryvnias had been allocated from the state budget in 2023. The building of this educational institution was hit by a Russian missile in July 2022.

Initially, the head of the city council’s education department, Hanna Lychko, said that School №51 was of great importance to Mykolaiv, so it would be rebuilt. However, the technical council under the city council’s capital construction department concluded that the building of Lyceum №51 must be demolished. Following this, Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych stated that a new, modern school with shelters equipped for children would be built in its place.

Mykolaiv’s Deputy Mayor Anatolii Petrov told NikVesti that the construction project for Lyceum No. 51 would be drawn up by summer 2024. He later explained that they intend to build three blocks there for primary, secondary and upper secondary education.

In March 2024, the City Council’s Capital Construction Department signed a contract for the development of the school’s construction project worth 6.3 million hryvnias.

Following the development of the project, it was reported that the Infrastructure Restoration and Development Service in the Mykolaiv region would be responsible for the construction of the educational institution.