Contractor for Krasnogorsk Hydro-Complex on Irtysh River Declared Bankrupt

Russian company Mezhregionstroy, the general contractor for the construction of the Krasnogorsk hydro-complex on the transboundary Irtysh River, has been officially declared bankrupt. The insolvency proceedings were recorded in the Unified State Register of Legal Entities on August 27. This development creates significant uncertainty regarding the completion of the facility, which has been hampered by financial instability for more than a decade.

A contract to finalize the first stage of the hydraulic structure was signed in 2022. While the total budget was estimated at approximately 5.3 billion rubles with a scheduled completion date of 2025, the contractor failed to meet the established timeline despite receiving 3.1 billion rubles – including an advance payment of 1.8 billion rubles. Despite the stable flow of funding, the developer was unable to adhere to the project schedule.

By late summer, the financial condition of Mezhregionstroy had deteriorated sharply. The company currently faces 257 enforcement proceedings, with total creditor claims reaching 1.9 billion rubles. The state client has already imposed fines of 26 million rubles for construction delays and has initiated further legal action to recover 173 million rubles.

Supervisory authorities are closely monitoring the situation. In June, the Omsk Regional Prosecutor’s Office filed a lawsuit to recover 1.6 billion rubles from the developer. This development reflects a recurring pattern for the Krasnogorsk project – a previous attempt to build the dam began in 2011 under the local company Mostovik, which also entered bankruptcy and was subsequently liquidated. It is currently unknown which entity will now be responsible for the preservation or completion of the hydro-complex.