Defects in Mykolaiv Zoo's «Animal Island» caused by layer of rotten leaves

The complex of enclosures «Animal Island» in the Mykolaiv Zoo, screenshot from a video by Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych/Facebook

During the repair of construction defects at the summer enclosures of the «Animal Island» complex in the Mykolaiv Zoo, it turned out that a significant soil subsidence was caused by a long-term layer of rotten leaves that lay at a depth of up to six metres and led to the destruction of the structures.

This was announced by Oleksii Savchuk, head of the capital construction department of the Mykolaiv City Council, during a live broadcast, according to NikVesti.

The issue is the correction of defects made by the contractor before the full-scale war during the construction of enclosures in «Animal Island». On 18 June 2025, the Capital Construction Department of the Mykolaiv City Council signed a contract with the company «Reconstruction and Construction». The company is to repair cracks in the fence, reconstruct the ponds and strengthen the soil.

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«We need to make a special mention of the «Animal Island» facility — it is in full view of everyone, and everyone can see what is happening there. Today, there was a subsidence of soil there. As it turned out, a long time ago, leaves were piled up there to a depth of almost six metres. They were lying in a thick layer and were rotting. Because of this, the soil sagged significantly, and the wall, which was dismantled, and the foundation cracked. We have already removed the blind area, removed all the leaves and are now backfilling to restore everything as it was. The facility is not easy, but we are working to restore it and put it into operation,» said Oleksii Savchuk.

«Animal Island» in the zoo: what is known

The construction of the «Animal Island» complex began in 2020. The first tender was won by Odesa-based LLC «Inzh-Stroi», which had only one successful case at the time — the repair of an angiograph in a Mykolaiv hospital. The work on the enclosures was estimated at 19.4 million hryvnias.

The complex of summer enclosures at the Mykolaiv Zoo was scheduled to open in September 2021. In the winter of the same year, the then Director of the Capital Construction Department of the City Council, Oleksandr Pozdniakov, announced the completion of the construction.

«It («Animal Island»— note) is completely ready. The facility consists of three zones for three different types of animals. They are separated by an iron door so that the animals cannot harm each other,» Pozdniakov said at the time.

At the same time, it became known that the zoo does not have enough staff to maintain the newly built complex «Island of Animals». In this regard, the director of the zoo, Volodymyr Topchii, sent an appeal to the city council to be allowed to hire 4 more people.

Subsequently, in December 2021, it became known that another 4.9 million hryvnias were going to be spent on the construction of the complex of enclosures «Island of Animals». The city authorities, through the DREAM system , were looking for a donor to provide funds for major repairs. The cost of the project already developed for these works was 179.9 thousand hryvnias.

Later, it became known that 2 million hryvnias was planned to be allocated for the construction of the «Animal Island» in the Mykolaiv Zoo in 2025. It was promised that by the end of 2025 the facility would be 100% ready.

In May 2025, it became known that an additional 1.6 million hryvnias would be allocated to eliminate construction deficiencies that arose during the construction of the summer enclosures of the «Island of Animals» complex. Everything is to be completed by 31 March 2026.

According to the terms of reference, the main goal is to dismantle defective structures and perform some of the work again. In particular, this includes removing the crushed stone pavement, dismantling cement concrete structures and double-glazed windows, and removing construction waste. In addition, it is planned to restore the ponds separately: digging new pits, waterproofing, and pouring reinforced concrete.

Changes are also planned inside the enclosures: the old brickwork and granite cladding will be removed, and new ceramic brick walls will be erected in their place and the cladding will be renewed.

At the time, in a comment to NikVesti, Oleksii Savchuk, director of the Capital Construction Department of the City Council, said that these works were the result of numerous defects made by the contractor before the full-scale war.

The first tender was published on 9 May. The cost of the works was 1 million 657 thousand 631 hryvnias. However, the auction never took place due to a lack of bids.

In June 2025, the Capital Construction Department signed a contract with a contractor on the second attempt to correct construction errors. The contract was signed with the company «Reconstruction and Construction». It will be valid until 31 December 2026, but the contractor must complete the work by the end of March 2026. The contract states that the amount of work may be reduced by mutual agreement of the parties.