Contractor has already laid 85% of the pipes of the new water supply system for Mykolaiv

Construction of a new water supply system for Mykolaiv, 22 May 2025, photo: Daryna Melnychuk, NikVesti

As of 22 May 2025, the contractor has already laid 85% of the pipes of the new water supply system that will supply Mykolaiv with drinking water.

This was announced by Anatolii Vakar, Deputy CEO of the «Avtostrada» group of companies, NikVesti.

According to him, the work is progressing rapidly, and the pipes are scheduled to be flooded in early June.

«We have completed the main construction works at pumping station №2. The construction of stations No. 1 and No. 3 is currently underway. Two water pipeline branches have already been installed to supply water to pumping station No. 1 from the intake point in the canal. The third branch is 95% complete, and the fourth is in the process of being welded. We plan to flood the pipes on 3-4 June. Divers are working on the intake section on the Southern Bug River. The deepening works are almost complete. Tomorrow we plan to install the first concrete slabs to line the river bottom and install supports for the pipes that will supply water to the first pumping station,» said Anatolii Vakar.

Anatoliy Vakar, Deputy CEO of the group of companies «Motorway», photo: Daryna Melnychuk, NikVesti

He added that 70% of the total amount of work has been completed, while only 40% of the total budget has been used. Part of the money is planned to be saved and used to build treatment facilities that will improve water quality.

«We have enough money, but some of it still needs to be saved. The construction of the treatment plant is still ahead. Active design is currently underway. Together with UNICEF, we are working on water purification technology. Their specialists are constantly working at the site, taking samples to finalise a solution that will ensure high-quality water treatment,« added Anatolii Vakar.

Photo report

Construction of a new water supply system for Mykolaiv, 22 May 2025, photo: Daryna Melnychuk, NikVesti

Construction of a new water supply system for Mykolaiv, 22 May 2025, photo: Daryna Melnychuk, NikVesti

Construction of a new water supply system for Mykolaiv, 22 May 2025, photo: Daryna Melnychuk, NikVesti

Construction of a new water supply system for Mykolaiv, 22 May 2025, photo: Daryna Melnychuk, NikVesti

Construction of a new water supply system for Mykolaiv, 22 May 2025, photo: Daryna Melnychuk, NikVesti

Construction of a new water supply system for Mykolaiv, 22 May 2025, photo: Daryna Melnychuk, NikVesti

Construction of a new water supply system for Mykolaiv, 22 May 2025, photo: Daryna Melnychuk, NikVesti

Construction of a new water supply system for Mykolaiv, 22 May 2025, photo: Daryna Melnychuk, NikVesti

Construction of a new water supply system for Mykolaiv, 22 May 2025, photo: Daryna Melnychuk, NikVesti

Construction of a new water supply system for Mykolaiv, 22 May 2025, photo: Daryna Melnychuk, NikVesti

Construction of a new water supply system for Mykolaiv, 22 May 2025, photo: Daryna Melnychuk, NikVesti

Construction of a new water supply system for Mykolaiv, 22 May 2025, photo: Daryna Melnychuk, NikVesti

Construction of a new water supply system for Mykolaiv, 22 May 2025, photo: Daryna Melnychuk, NikVesti

Construction of a new water supply system for Mykolaiv, 22 May 2025, photo: Daryna Melnychuk, NikVesti

Construction of a new water supply system for Mykolaiv, 22 May 2025, photo: Daryna Melnychuk, NikVesti

Construction of a new water supply system for Mykolaiv, 22 May 2025, photo: Daryna Melnychuk, NikVesti

As a reminder, the head of the State Agency for Reconstruction, Serhii Sukhomlyn, said that more than 50% of the water supply system had been completed in early May.

Read also: NikVesti «Tired of hauling those water jugs». Will Mykolaiv get drinking water in 2025?.

Water supply for Mykolaiv

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Almost three years have passed since Russian troops damaged the water pipeline that supplied Mykolaiv with water. Since then, the city of almost half a million people has been without a centralised supply of drinking water. Currently, Mykolaiv residents receive water from a backup source, which raises many questions about the quality of the water and the salt content. The salt water damaged 1,200 kilometres of the city's water supply network. Borys Dudenko, director of «Mykolaivvodokanal», said that it is impossible to replace the entire length of the network that was damaged by salt water. As of August 2024, only about 3 kilometres of the network had been replaced.

All this time, representatives of state and local authorities were looking for ways to restore drinking water supply in Mykolaiv. The final solution was found in 2024: a new water supply line would be laid from Nova Odesa, and the money was allocated from the state budget.

The regional recovery service even selected contractors who will work according to the principle of «design-build». They are three companies, each of which is responsible for one of the three work areas: «Ukrtransmist», «Rostdorstroi» and «Autostrada». However, later both the client and the construction contractor were changed. The customer for the construction of the new water pipeline was the Service for Infrastructure Restoration and Development in Dnipropetrovsk region, and the contractor was the group of companies «Avtostrada».

The future water pipeline for Mykolaiv is expected to be built and launched by autumn 2025, said Serhii Sukhomlyn, head of the State Agency for Reconstruction. Back during a conference in Berlin in 2024, First Deputy Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada Oleksandr Korniienko, answering a question from NikVesti, said that the lack of drinking water in Mykolaiv was one of the biggest problems in Ukraine that the state should solve in the near future. And President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has ordered the construction of a new water supply system to provide Mykolaiv with drinking water «under the fast track option» — drinking water should be available by the summer of 2025. The government has already approved the programme.

Solar power plants are going to be installed on the water supply system for Mykolaiv, which will reduce the cost of water tariffs for the city's residents, said Vitalii Kim, head of the RMA. At the same time, the contractor «Autostrada» explained that they decided to lay a new water supply system for Mykolaiv from Nova Odesa, as it is the «closest site with good quality drinking water». They also showed photos of the construction of the new water supply system.

Still need more purified water

Although a new water supply system for Mykolaiv is promised to be built by autumn 2025. However, this does not guarantee that the city will immediately receive drinking water, as a new water treatment system needs to be built, Kristina Mikulova, head of the European Investment Bank's Regional Centre for Eastern Europe, told NikVesti.

At the same time, Deputy Mayor of Mykolaiv and head of the city's recovery working group Serhii Koreniev said that the Mykolaiv Recovery Agency is working to upgrade the wastewater treatment plant and launch it simultaneously with the new water supply system. And Vitalii Kim, head of the Mykolaiv Regional Water Authority, said he did not want to rush to take out a large loan for the construction of water treatment facilities for Mykolaiv, despite the EIB's readiness to allocate more than €100 million.

Later, it became known that the State Agency for the Restoration and Development of Infrastructure is currently upgrading the water treatment system for Mykolaiv on behalf of the government.

Together with the constructed water pipeline, this will allow the city to launch a centralised drinking water supply in August 2025, said Serhii Sukhomlyn, head of the State Agency for Infrastructure Recovery and Development.