Automagistral-Pivden is one of the largest Ukrainian road construction companies, founded in 2004 by entrepreneur Oleksandr Boyko, who is also mentioned in the Panama Papers. It specializes in the construction and reconstruction of national highways and is one of the main contractors in the Ukrainian government’s ''Great Construction'' program. The company has been the subject of criticism and journalistic investigations over allegations of Cartel, cartel collusion in Invitation to tender, tenders, the concentration of government contracts among a narrow circle of contractors, and the informal influence of Yuriy Holyk, a coordinator of the ''Great Construction'' program, who is alleged to have lobbied for the company’s interests. In 2025, criminal proceedings were opened against Automagistral-Pivden, which, according to the Prosecutor General of Ukraine, are based on expert-confirmed evidence.

History

Since 2004, ''Automagistral-Pivden'' has built and repaired over 3,000 km of roads and restored more than 40 million square meters of road surface. During this period, the company has completed around 300 projects. In 2021, it was building and repairing roads at 80 sites across 12 regions of Ukraine, with the total length of the restored roads exceeding 835 km. During the Presidency of Volodymyr Zelenskyy, ''Automagistral-Pivden'' became the leading private contractor for the national ''Great Construction'' program. As of 2025, ''Automagistral-Pivden'' is responsible for approximately 22.5% of all construction work in Ukraine, making it a key player in the country’s road construction sector. It is considered the largest construction company in Ukraine as of 2025.

Role of Yuriy Holyk

The owner of ''Automagistral-Pivden'' Oleksandr Boyko has close ties with Yuriy Holyk, the coordinator of the Great Construction program and a former adviser to the head of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional State Administration. According to Forbes, Holyk was responsible for coordinating ''Automagistral-Pivden'' with government agencies in his capacity as a contractor representative. It is believed that Boyko and Holyk first met in 2015, when Holyk was an adviser to the head of the Dnipropetrovsk RSA, Valentyn Reznichenko. Holyk has stated that ''Automagistral-Pivden'' is one of the few road companies that strives for quality construction. Investigative reports indicate that Holyk influenced the allocation of government contracts within the program, allegedly enabling ''Automagistral-Pivden'' to secure large contracts with limited competition. Journalists note that Holyk gave ''Automagistral-Pivden'' a "green light" in the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, granting the company a privileged position for public contracts.

Cartel collusion

According to the investigative outlet ''Nashi Groshi'', ''Automagistral-Pivden'' is one of the leaders of the so-called "cartel" of road construction companies in Ukraine. Other members of this cartel include ''Rostdorstroy'', ''Onur Construction International'', ''Tekhno Stroy Tsentr'', and ''Dorozhne Budivnytstvo "Altkom"''. Together, these companies reportedly control approximately 65-80% of the road construction market and related infrastructure projects in Ukraine, amounting to tens of billions of hryvnias annually.

Operations

The company's main specialization is the design, construction, and reconstruction of highways. Avtomagistral-Pivden has been an active participant in the government’s ''Great Construction'' program, implementing numerous infrastructure projects in various regions of Ukraine.

Major projects

* reconstruction of international highways (Highway M05 (Ukraine), M-05 Kyiv — Odesa, Highway M03 (Ukraine), M-03 Kyiv — Kharkiv) * capital repairs of regional roads * participation in bridge crossing projects

Financial indicators and market

The company regularly wins large tenders from Ukravtodor, particularly within the framework of the ''Great Construction'' program. In 2020, journalists discovered that ''Automagistral-Pivden'' and other companies united in the National Association of Road Builders of Ukraine (NARBU) won over 75% of tenders announced by Ukravtodor under new procurement rules. These rules were reportedly lobbied for by Oleksandr Kubrakov, head of Ukravtodor, and his former adviser Yuriy Holyk.

Criticism and investigations

''Automagistral-Pivden'' has repeatedly been the subject of journalistic investigations and criticism over allegations of collusion in government tenders, accusations of Corporate raid, raiding and embezzlement of funds allocated for Fortification, fortification structures.

Allegations of raiding

In September 2022, ''Automagistral-Pivden'' was accused of attempting a Corporate raid, raider takeover of a construction site in Hostomel, Kyiv Oblast. The company began construction work on land used by another enterprise, LLC "Vitruvia", without the required permits. The works were reportedly conducted in the interests of the local Hostomel administration to build a modular town.

Allegations of embezzlement of funds for fortification structures

In 2024, law enforcement authorities were investigating around 30 criminal cases related to the suspected embezzlement of funds intended for the construction of fortifications. The total damage was estimated at ₴20.1 billion (Ukrainian hryvnias). ''Automagistral-Pivden'' was among the contractors that received money for these projects.

Scandal over the Kryvyi Rih Water Pipeline Project

In 2025, ''Automagistral-Pivden'', became involved in a scandal related to the construction of the main water pipeline ''Inhulets — Southern Reservoir'' for supplying water to Kryvyi Rih. The contract was awarded without an open tender. The total cost of the project amounted to approximately 7.7 billion hryvnias, of which, according to a journalistic investigation by RBC-Ukraine, over 3 billion hryvnias may have been overpaid due to excessive technical solutions, inflated construction and logistics costs. Experts specifically pointed to the construction of an unnecessary pumping station, an excessive number of pipelines, and inefficient organization of material supplies. Media reports also indicated that the project was supervised by Yuriy Holyk, a former advisor to the head of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional State Administration and one of the coordinators of the Great Construction program. The National Police of Ukraine opened a criminal investigation into possible abuses and money laundering. According to a statement by the National Police of Ukraine on 19 June 2025, the total amount of state funds allocated for the construction of the same pipeline exceeded 7.4 billion UAH, of which over 240 million UAH were confirmed to have been embezzled. The authorities noted that total losses may reach several billion UAH. According to the investigation, the fraudulent scheme involved significant overpricing of construction materials—up to 50%—through affiliated suppliers, enabling the laundering of public funds via controlled companies. Based on the collected evidence, five individuals were officially charged with criminal offenses. If convicted, they face up to twelve years in prison with confiscation of assets. The Prosecutor General of Ukraine, Ruslan Kravchenko, in response to an appeal by the company ''Automagistral-Pivden'' on 28 June 2025, stated that he had personally reviewed the details of the criminal proceedings and found all the charges to be lawful, well-founded, and supported by the results of forensic examinations. He also noted that the investigation remains impartial and that, if necessary, a comprehensive expert examination would be conducted. He guaranteed an audit of all criminal cases in the infrastructure sector, stressing that those guilty of corruption would be held accountable, while unfounded accusations would be refuted.

References

External links

*{{Official, https://www.amp.ua/ Construction and civil engineering companies of Ukraine