New Director of SCP «Pivdennyi» Artem Lytvynov disrupted the tender for electricity worth over 200 million hryvnias, putting the port’s operations at risk

New Director of SCP «Pivdennyi» Artem Lytvynov disrupted the tender for electricity worth over 200 million hryvnias, putting the port’s operations at risk

A situation is unfolding in the state port «Pivdennyi» that could end not only in financial losses but also in the actual shutdown of the enterprise’s operations. The reason is the disruption of electricity procurement after the appointment of the new manager.

As writes journalist Iryna Hryb, on March 20, Vice Prime Minister Oleksiy Kuleba appointed Artem Lytvynov as the port’s director—a person associated with his so-called «back-office». Just a few days after the appointment, the new head’s decisions began to directly impact the enterprise’s critical processes.

At the time of Lytvynov’s arrival, two electricity procurement procedures had finally been announced in the port—through the Prozorro system and through Prozorro Market. The contract in question was worth over 200 million UAH.

After «reviewing» the documentation, the director, according to sources, gave subordinates a direct order to cancel the Prozorro tender. Officially—allegedly to review the terms. In fact, the procedure was destroyed.

The Prozorro Market procurement remained, where suppliers were already registered. However, it also fell through. On March 25, 2026, the enterprise had to announce a new tender essentially from scratch.

According to sources, the situation could repeat until the «right» supplier appears in the bidding.

The problem is that the port cannot wait indefinitely. Without a signed contract, the enterprise risks being left without electricity and switching to generators and diesel. At the same time, fuel reserves are insufficient, and its cost is several times higher than the price of electricity under the contract.

Such a scenario means a sharp increase in costs, a drop in efficiency, and the risk of partial downtime for one of the country’s key state ports.

According to sources, the situation is already under the scrutiny of law enforcement agencies. If the procurements continue to be blocked, it could escalate into a separate criminal proceeding.

In fact, the port with a turnover of billions of hryvnias has become a hostage to management decisions that threaten its basic functioning.