Federal auditors uncover serious flaws in Kemerovo runway overhaul
Russia«s Accounts Chamber uncovered a number of financial violations during the reconstruction of the runway in Kemerovo and several other cities across the country. The work was carried out at inflated prices, and treatment facilities are not operational, according to a report reviewed by NGS42.RU on Wednesday, January 21.
The commission found that state contracts for the work were inflated, and concluded that there are signs of damage to the federal budget totaling 497.7 million rubles (approx. $5.0 million at current rates). Of this, about 8.5 million rubles (approx. $85,000) are attributed to the reconstruction of the airport complex in Kemerovo.
The Chamber conducted inspections in all Russian cities where runway construction or reconstruction took place from 2022 to 2024. It turned out that the facilities, including in Kemerovo, were put into operation without official permission.
«Moreover, the costs for creating the runways have not been transferred to the operator, which prevents the facilities from being involved in economic activity, ensuring a reduction in the volume of unfinished construction, and making changes to lease agreements,» the document states.
It also emerged that the reconstruction practically did not affect the intensity of passenger transportation at the airports and remained at the 2019 level.
At the end of the report, it was noted that the work on building surface runoff treatment facilities has been completed, but at the Kemerovo airport, they were not operational at the time of the inspection.
In January 2024, NGS42 wrote that builders only managed to reconstruct one kilometer of the runway out of three. It was planned that the work would be completed within a year, but this did not happen.
Recently, authorities promised that the work will begin in spring 2026, and the reconstruction will require over 11 billion rubles (approx. $110 million). Flights will have to be suspended for almost half a year.
