Out-of-town firms that won auctions for the renovation of Tomsk schools are looking for workers and equipment on site – authorities

In 2024, renovation of 12 schools will begin in Tomsk; contracts for work in seven have already been concluded. Companies from other cities that have entered into contracts for the renovation of Tomsk schools mostly do not bring their workers and equipment, but look for resources locally, said Dmitry Tikhonov, head of the capital construction department of the Tomsk administration. According to him, only companies from nearby regions bring their personnel.

Earlier it was reported that in Tomsk in 2024, renovations will begin in 11 schools: No. 11, 33, 34, 25, 23, 67, 40, Mariinskaya secondary school No. 3, gymnasium No. 56, 26 and boarding school No. 1. The question arises about the temporary placement of students in other institutions. It is not yet known where exactly the children will be redistributed. The mayor’s office promised to publish a “resettlement” scheme when contracts for repairs have already been signed.

As Dmitry Tikhonov said at a meeting of the capital construction department of the Tomsk administration, for each object planned for repair over a period of two years, 125 million will be spent from three sources of funding – federal 108 million rubles, 17 regional, the rest from the local budget. He noted that comprehensive capital repair projects were made for each school, then specialists formed “local estimate summaries” to carry out selective repairs.

“Today, out of 11 planned objects, plus there is school No. 5, it is extra-curricular, there is federal money, that is, a total of 12 schools for this year, seven contracts have been concluded to date,” Tikhonov noted.

Schools No. 11, 23, 67 will be repaired by SK “Zenit” (Novosibirsk), gymnasium No. 26 – “Step” (Tomsk), boarding school No. 1 – “Forward about 42” (Kemerovo), school No. 49 – “Continent” (Saratov ), school No. 33 – “Stroygrad” (Krasnoyarsk).

“Advance payments have been distributed – 30% of the contract value. The period for completing the work is approximately the same for everyone – from June 1, 2024 at the end of the educational process to June 1, 2025, or from July 1, 2024 to July 1, 2025. This is due to the fact that some schools are holding exams, and we are waiting for them to be completed,” Tikhonov said.

Savings from trading remained 126 million rubles. Regarding the reduction in contract prices, he noted that companies say: “We consider our economy.”

“There are always risks, of course, but if there is some kind of emergency, then we have mechanisms for returning the advance payment,” Tikhonov said.

According to him, companies primarily look for employees and equipment directly in Tomsk.

“I met with each director of the enterprise personally, talked and got to know each other. First of all, I was worried about where the resources would come from. <...> What if they count on Tomsk resources, they may be disappointed. The trend is the following – if this is Saratov, then they will not bring anything from Saratov – neither people nor equipment, they will try to attract them locally, otherwise it will not be profitable. If Kemerovo, they promise that 80% <...> they will bring their own people. All equipment will be hired, local. That is, if it’s far away, no one is carrying people. They arrive with a pen and stamp. It is clear that they will enter into subcontracts,” said the head of the capital construction department.

Regarding personnel in the construction sector in Tomsk and the Tomsk region, experts have previously repeatedly pointed out a shortage. Russian regions faced a shortage of workers at construction sites during the pandemic, which was also due to the closure of borders due to coronavirus and the inability to attract foreign workers. In recent years, the situation in the construction market has been called difficult. At the beginning of 2024, authorities reported that builders are among the most scarce specialists in the Tomsk region (2.7 resumes per vacancy).

According to him, capital repair projects for three facilities are under examination at Tomskgosekspertiza – schools No. 25, 40. School No. 34 is the only one currently remaining on the public procurement site; applications from those wishing to carry out repairs will be accepted until May 14.

Regarding the redistribution of children during repairs in schools, Tikhonov noted that, for example, in school No. 33, repairs will only take place in the summer; Pupils will be able to go to school in September and study until the New Year, when work starts again. At some sites, students will be able to return to partially renovated school buildings in December. “The aesthetic condition, of course, will not be new, but the basic emergency life support systems of the facility – heating, electrical… will be done,” he said.

Deputy Head of the Department of Education Konstantin Belyaev, in turn, noted that there is a preliminary distribution of children to neighboring schools, and final information will be available by the end of summer.

“I think by the summer, when it will be clear which schools will close or not close when, we will have accurate information by August 1, which schools the children will attend, how shifts will be organized,” said the deputy head of the education department.