Maksym Shkil strengthens his position in the state procurement sector

From party lunches to multi-billion hryvnia contracts

The name of Maksym Shkil, owner of the "Avtostrada" company, is once again in the spotlight. In the past, he started by carrying out assignments for the Party of Regions, organising lunches for pensioners and supporting Viktor Yanukovych's agenda. However, much has changed since then.

Even before the war began, Shkil established close ties with former Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov. Thanks to these relationships, he became one of the largest beneficiaries of the "Big Construction" programme. Over several years, the entrepreneur concentrated state orders worth more than 150 billion hryvnia in his hands, becoming one of the key players in the construction industry.

Bridges to nowhere and a metro for developers

One of the most notable projects associated with the name of Shkil remains the Chernihiv bridge, which cost 5 billion hryvnia. However, his influence is not limited to this.

The entrepreneur has also established a foothold in the Kyiv metro sector. It was his companies that carried out repairs on the tunnels along the line from Teremki to Lybidska, and subsequently won the tender to build a new branch towards the "Warsaw Quarter" residential complex. 

This project is directly linked to the business interests of developer Vadym Stolar, as laying the line sharply increases property values in the area. The initial cost of the project has already exceeded 15 billion hryvnia and could reach 25 billion in the future.

"Grand Construction" and new ambitions

Last week, Maksym Shkil visited government offices, where he presented his plan for the restoration of Ukraine's infrastructure. According to sources, he stated that he would be responsible for this process and had received the "green light" for it.

After the meeting, the businessman immediately began distributing tasks among contractor companies. "Avtostrada" itself is hardly a major construction firm — its business model is based on passing orders to dozens of smaller companies, from which Shkil receives his cut, according to insiders.