Pavlodar Stadium: A Story of sport complex and lost money

A modern stadium for national sports was to be built in Pavlodar, which would become the pride of the city and a center of attraction for athletes and residents. But the project turned into a story about lost millions, an unscrupulous contractor, and violations of the law. The construction of the stadium for national sports in the Shcherbaktinsky Bridge area started with a budget of 261.5 million tenge, but by completion the cost of the project had increased to 666.3 million tenge — more than two and a half times. However, the stadium was never completed.

The contractor, Gradstroyservice LLP, systematically missed deadlines, and in May 2025, the contract with him was terminated. An audit conducted by the Department of Internal State Audit for the Pavlodar region in June 2025 revealed serious financial irregularities. 589.8 million tenge was transferred to the contractor, although according to the documents, only 555.3 million tenge worth of work was completed — 34.5 million tenge was overpaid, that is, budget money was gone, but there was no result.

When checking at the facility, it turned out that another 28.3 million tenge was paid for work that does not actually exist, thus 28.3 million tenge was spent on unjustified payments. In the amount of 62.8 million tenge of the budget, the expediency and legality of their spending were questioned, as part of the funds were overpaid to the contractor, and part was paid for work that actually did not exist. But the story is not just about money. In 2024, work continued at the facility, although the notice of commencement of construction and installation work expired in December 2023.

The notification of the resumption of work was not sent to the state architectural and construction control bodies. In addition, the customer did not apply to the court in time to recognize the contractor as an unscrupulous participant in public procurement, for which the head of the institution was brought to administrative responsibility and fined.

Today, Gradstroyservice LLP has been declared bankrupt. The revealed 62.8 million tenge is included in the company's debt to the state and is subject to recovery as part of the bankruptcy procedure.