«It is better to rebuild what we have»: MP Kopytin does not support the idea of building a new lyceum №51 in Mykolaiv for a billion hryvnias

Зруйнована будівля Миколаївського ліцею №51, серпень 2025 року, фото: «NikVesti»The destroyed building of Mykolaiv Lyceum №51, August 2025, photo: NikVesti

Ukrainian MP Ihor Kopytin has spoken out against the idea of building a new Mykolaiv Lyceum №51 for 1 billion hryvnias to replace the destroyed building.

This is stated in the article NikVesti «This is our home». How does the destroyed lyceum 51 teach students and is it worth waiting for its reconstruction?»

Instead, the MP told us in a commentary, it is worth considering the option of rebuilding the destroyed building of the educational institution.

«From the very beginning, I said that it is better to rebuild what we have. It is not the time to do such projects. As far as I remember, the construction cost is about a billion hryvnias. I believe that it would be possible to rebuild what we have for about 30 million hryvnias, so that children could study and we would have an institution. And then, in the future, we could have built», says MP Ihor Kopytin, whose constituency includes Lyceum №51.

Once the project is developed, the construction of the lyceum should be handled by the Infrastructure Restoration and Development Service in Mykolaiv region. But the state budget does not have the funds to build a new institution, says MP Ihor Kopytin.

«The state does not have such funds. And I understand that foreign sponsors will not allocate funds for this now either, unfortunately,» he added.

Earlier, the contractor was supposed to develop a project for the construction of a new Mykolaiv Lyceum No. 51 by the summer of 2024, then promised to complete it by the end of March 2025, but failed to do so.

It is previously known that the cost of building the new lyceum is estimated at more than 1 billion hryvnias. This was announced by Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych. According to him, international partners will not finance the construction of a new one. The city has already spent 6.3 million hryvnias on the development of the new construction project.

Mykolaiv Lyceum №51

The construction of Lyceum №51 in Mykolaiv was previously included in the list of five facilities in Mykolaiv region, for the restoration of which 667.9 million hryvnias was 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 at the city council's capital construction department concluded that the building of Lyceum 51 should be demolished. After that, Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych said that a new, modern institution with shelters for children would be built in its place.

Книжки під завалами у Миколаївському ліцеї №51, серпень 2025 року, фото: «NikVesti»Books under the rubble in Mykolaiv Lyceum No. 51, August 2025, photo: NikVesti

Vice Mayor of Mykolaiv Anatolii Petrov told NikVesti that the construction project for Lyceum No. 51 would be developed by the summer of 2024. Later he said that they want to build three buildings for primary, secondary and senior education.

At the same time, the Department of Energy, Energy Saving and Implementation of Innovative Technologies of the Mykolaiv City Council ordered the development of design estimates for the repair and installation of windows and doors at school №51.

It was also reported that at the international exhibition and conference «Rebuild Ukraine» in Warsaw, the mayor of Mykolaiv, Oleksandr Sienkevych, presented projects for the reconstruction of kindergarten and school №51.

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

After the project is developed, the Infrastructure Restoration and Development Service in Mykolaiv region will be responsible for the construction of the school.

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