Mykolaiv tests fountains on Soborna Square that have not been switched on for three years
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- Alina Kvitko
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16:33, 30 May, 2025
Test run of fountains on Soborna Square. Photo: NikVestiIn the coming days, Mykolaiv plans to launch a fountain on Soborna Square for the first time since the beginning of the full-scale invasion.
Oleksandr Bryzhatyi, deputy director of the municipal enterprise «Mykolaiv Parks», told NikVesti.
According to him, specialists have been carrying out commissioning work for two days now in order to have the fountain up and running by 1 June.
«We have assembled the fountain, and for the second day we have been carrying out full commissioning. I don't want to speculate, because it hasn't been working for a long time, and I can't say for sure how long the testing will last. I assume that on Monday it will start working in the start-up mode. According to the plan, the fountain was to be launched by 1 June. Now my employees and I are constantly on site to launch it by that date,» said Alexander Bryzhatyi.
As you know, the fountains on the square have not worked for several years. In 2022, the equipment was severely damaged due to flooding of electrical panels and lighting. Some of the equipment was dismantled, cleaned of rust, painted and reassembled. The wiring in the affected cabinets was replaced. Some equipment was adjusted, and some was restored.
«We do not repair the fountain — we are working on its launch. All the work is carried out by the specialists of the utility companies. Previously, the launch was impossible due to the lack of technical capability — there were problems with the equipment. Some of the equipment has been adjusted, while others were restored after the flooding in 2022. Some elements were damaged because water got to the pumps. They were dismantled, serviced, cleaned of rust, painted and reassembled. We also partially replaced the electrical wiring in the cabinets, which were also damaged by the water. The lighting in the fountain will work, but it hasn't been installed yet,» said Oleksandr Bryzhatyi.
Fountains on Soborna Square in Mykolaiv. Photo: NikVesti.
The fountains on Soborna Square in Mykolaiv will work for the first time since the beginning of the war. Photo: NikVesti
Municipal enterprise «Mykolaiv Parks» is repairing the fountains on Soborna Square in Mykolaiv. Photo: NikVesti
The stormwater grates on Soborna Square will also be replaced. Photo: NikVesti
The arched fountain on Soborna Square in Mykolaiv is working in test mode. Photo: NikVesti
Municipal enterprise «Mykolaiv Parks» is repairing stormwater drainage near the fountains on Soborna Square in Mykolaiv. Photo: NikVestiAs a reminder, the reconstruction of Soborna Square in Mykolaiv has become one of the city's largest projects. Officially, the work began in May 2019, when the Department of Housing and Communal Services of the Mykolaiv City Council signed an agreement with the Odesa-based company «BVK «Pik-Bud» for 88.3 million hryvnias.
According to the project, it was planned to renovate the city's central square: dismantle the old pavement, lay new granite tiles, install modern lighting, renovate fountains and create a recreation area with benches, bins and green spaces. However, the work was delayed. Instead of the planned completion in September 2019, the reconstruction lasted for several more years, and the project cost increased to 104.9 million hryvnias.
Even during the reconstruction of Soborna Square in Mykolaiv, there were problems with drainage, which led to its flooding. In particular, the storm sewer system could not cope with the volume of water that entered the square.
As Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych stated in 2020, the water backup was caused by the contractor's mistakes, who did not observe the required slope when laying the tiles. He promised that the Odesa-based company «BVK «Pik-Bud» would fix the problems at its own expense.
Utility workers cleaning the storm drains on Soborna Square also found defects in them that did not allow water to flow freely through the gutters and led to rapid blockages.
In July 2024, Municipal Enterprise «Mykolaiv Parks» planned to overhaul the electrical switchboards that were damaged as a result of flooding of technical premises for 688 thousand hryvnias. However, the tender was cancelled.
Earlier, the company's commercial director Larysa Saienko said that the company had specialists who could repair the fountains on Soborna Square.
Earlier, NikVesti reported that cracks in the granite tiles appeared on Soborna Square in Mykolaiv, which cost the city more than 100 million hryvnias to reconstruct five years ago. Could the defects on the main square of Mykolaiv be caused by man-made factors, climate or a violation of the laying technology?
In particular, the granite slabs have cracks of varying depth and size, and in some places there are chips and even deformation of individual slabs. Some elements of the tiles have sagged. In some areas, there are widened joints between the slabs. Rainwater gutters in some areas are loose or displaced and deformed. In addition, part of the area near the steps has been recently asphalted instead of restoring part of the previous pavement. Cracks in the adjacent slabs and curbs are also visible.
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