Owes 65 million. Former Druzhba Park contractor loses court appeal

A former contractor for the reconstruction of Rostov's Druzhba Park unsuccessfully appealed a court decision ordering it to pay 65.6 million rubles ($728,900 at current rates) for unfinished and defective work.

Feb 1, 2026

The court appeal concerned a lawsuit filed by the park administration over unpaid debts and construction defects.
Source:
Yevgeny Vdovin / 161.RU

The former contractor for the reconstruction of Druzhba Park in Rostov filed a cassation appeal against the decision of the Arbitration Court of the Rostov Region, but it was left unsatisfied. Earlier, the company «Avtomagistral SK,» which was sued by the park administration, was ordered to pay 65.6 million rubles (approximately $728,900 at current rates). This is the cost of uncompleted work and defects.

«In the opinion of the company (Avtomagistral SK. — Ed.), the institution in the statement of claim demanded the recovery of unjust enrichment and costs for eliminating defects under the municipal contract, but the court went beyond the claims and recovered the said amount as losses,» the case materials say.

According to SPARK, the company «Avtomagistral SK» was registered in 2014 in the city of Yessentuki, Stavropol Krai. General Director — Sergey Kazeko, beneficiary — Medeya Aytova. Since 2022, the company«s revenue has more than halved — to 416 million rubles (approximately $4,622,200 at current rates) in 2024. Net loss amounted to more than 30 million rubles (approximately $333,300 at current rates). Until 2022, the company worked extensively on government contracts — the volume of state orders received in 2020–2022 amounted to more than 4.5 billion rubles (approximately $50 million at current rates). In addition to landscaping, Avtomagistral SK repaired and built roads. The company is now listed in the register of dishonest suppliers.

The total value of the contract for the reconstruction of «Druzhba,» which was concluded in the spring of 2022, amounted to 562.3 million rubles (approximately $6,247,800 at current rates). The work was supposed to be completed by 20 November 2024. Two months before the completion date, the construction readiness of the facility was only about 35%.

As it turned out earlier, the actual work on the site was not done by «Avtomagistral SK,» but by a subcontractor — LLC «Mart Don Stroy.» The contractor explained the delay by problems that were identified after the start of work and required changes to the project and estimates.

A new project for the reconstruction of Druzhba Park was prepared by the end of last year. The cost of the park improvement and the exact timing of the reconstruction work are not yet known. As said Yury Slyusar, in 2026 the authorities plan to reconstruct the central part of Druzhba Park.