The contractor "Volga-Vyatka Road Administration" was denied in the dispute over the contract for 12.9 billion.

      How "Khotkovsky Avtomost" on the brink of bankruptcy disrupted the order for the reconstruction of the R-241 Kazan - Buinsk - Ulyanovsk highway

      Photo: Real Time

      The court in Tatarstan confirmed the legality of terminating the multibillion-dollar contract for the reconstruction of the federal highway R-241 Kazan - Buinsk - Ulyanovsk with the major road contractor OJSC "Khotkovsky Avtomost". It was established that the customer - "Volgo-Vyatkupavtodor" - had the right to refuse the contract due to the lack of progress on the project. With a contract price of 12.9 billion rubles and strict deadlines for the execution of a socially significant project, the contractor disrupted the schedule by more than a year, the arbitration noted. Details are in the material from "Real Time".

      Disruption of the schedule worth billions: why Tatarstan refused the services of a Moscow region contractor

      The Arbitration Court of Tatarstan denied "Khotkovsky Avtomost" in recognizing the decision of the Federal State Institution "Volgo-Vyatkupavtodor" on the unilateral refusal to fulfill the contract for 12.9 billion rubles as invalid. The contractor from the Moscow region was supposed to reconstruct sections of the R-241 Kazan - Buinsk - Ulyanovsk highway in the Ulyanovsk region. The deadline for completion of the work was set for October 31, 2027, and the contract was valid until November 30, 2028. The key reason for the dispute was the customer's decision on March 20 of this year to unilaterally refuse the contract. The basis was that the contractor did not begin preparatory work on the site, in particular, the demolition of buildings, the clearing of green spaces, and archaeological excavations, within the timeframes established by the calendar schedule. According to the documents, the start of this work was planned for January 15, 2025, but as of February 2026, they had not yet begun - this is confirmed by acts signed by both parties.

      A representative of the plaintiff in court insisted that the delay was caused by the actions of the customer itself. In particular, the contractor pointed to the following problems:

      the customer did not provide the initial data for design on time;

      at the customer's request, project solutions were changed - they were not provided for in the contract;

      the documentation for land planning was received late;

      the advance was not paid on time;

      the construction site was not handed over;

      the customer did not assist the contractor in the work.

      According to representatives of "Khotkovsky Avtomost", due to these violations, it cannot be considered that the company disrupted the work deadlines.

      Positions of the parties and arguments about the customer's fault

      The plaintiff tried to prove that the delay in the schedule was a consequence of the customer's delays: the absence of an advance at the right moment, the non-transfer of the site, delays with documentation, and the need for unscheduled archaeological work at the "Mullovka-II Settlement" site. In addition, in a letter dated February 16, 2026, the contractor clearly outlined the conditions under which it was ready to begin fulfilling the contract: the official transfer of the site, the appointment of an authorized representative of the customer, and the payment of the advance.

      However, the court found these arguments unconvincing. Firstly, the customer confirmed that the advance of 0.25% of the contract price (32.3 million rubles) was transferred back in late 2022 - early 2023, which was not refuted by the plaintiff. Secondly, the contractor did not use the mechanisms provided by the Civil Code to protect its interests: it did not suspend work in accordance with Articles 716 and 719 of the Civil Code and did not send the customer a proper notice of the impossibility of fulfilling the schedule for objective reasons. According to the terms of the contract (clause 5.6), the contractor, who did not notify the customer of circumstances hindering work, loses the right to refer to them later.

      The court also took into account that a positive conclusion from the state examination of the project documentation was obtained back in August 2025. In other words, the contractor had about six months until the date of refusal to begin preparatory work.

      Why the court supported the customer

      The customer for the reconstruction of the R-241 road acted within the framework of the law and the terms of the contract, the court concluded. The right to unilateral refusal is explicitly provided for in clause 17.3 of the contract: the customer has the right to terminate the contract if the contractor delays the start of work for more than 10 calendar days for reasons not dependent on the customer, or violates the deadlines for stages more than twice by more than 5 days. In this case, the delay exceeded a year, and the plaintiff did not provide evidence that it was caused by the actions of the customer.

      Moreover, the court emphasized the public significance of the object: it concerns the reconstruction of a federal highway, which affects transport accessibility and road safety. The prolonged delay of the contractor affects the interests not only of the parties to the contract but also of a wide range of citizens. Lawyers have repeatedly pointed out that in public procurement cases, courts increasingly take public interest into account. When it comes to socially significant objects, the contractor's formal arguments about "coordination difficulties" often give way to an assessment of the actual progress of the project.

      As a result, the court denied the claim, confirming the legality of the decision of "Volgo-Vyatkupavtodor" to refuse the contract. The decision can be appealed in the Eleventh Arbitration Court of Appeal within a month. Experts emphasize that in disputes over the termination of government contracts, contractors are required not only to refer to problems but also to timely and documentarily fix obstacles and suspend work; otherwise, the risk of losing the contract and suffering reputational losses significantly increases.

      Criminal case and systemic problems of "Khotkovsky Avtomost"

      OJSC "Khotkovsky Avtomost" is one of the major players in the road construction industry with a 54-year history and a portfolio of billion-dollar government contracts. In 2025, it found itself in a deep crisis: more than a thousand employees across the country had not received their salaries for months. Workers engaged in the construction of strategic facilities, not receiving clear explanations from management regarding payment delays, were forced to strike at the sites and record appeals to journalists.

      A turning point came on September 25, 2025: the Federal Tax Service blocked the company's accounts in eight banks, effectively depriving it of access to finances. Meanwhile, the debt to employees continued to grow. At the same time, a criminal case was initiated in Ulyanovsk for the embezzlement of more than 146 million rubles during the construction of a bridge over the Sviyaga River, where "Khotkovsky Avtomost" was working. In September 2025, work effectively stopped, deadlines for completion were repeatedly postponed (from November 2023 to 2026), the contract price increased from 1.19 billion to 1.803 billion rubles, and the contractor could not clearly explain the expenditure of funds - in particular, why only 3 million out of 124 million rubles went to salaries, while over 24 million were spent on unnecessary equipment.

      The industry believes that the problem of "Khotkovsky Avtomost" lies not only in the disruption of deadlines but also in the systemic nature of violations. When a company simultaneously manages dozens of large contracts, and cash gaps and accounts receivable amount to tens of billions of rubles, there is a temptation to redistribute funds between projects, which is unacceptable for the budget. According to the Federal Tax Service, in 2024, the accounts receivable of "Khotkovsky Avtomost" amounted to 32 billion rubles - this indirectly confirms the version of law enforcement that the company was trying to patch holes with new advances without closing obligations on already started projects.

      The contractor's problems extend far beyond the Ulyanovsk region. In Buryatia, the contract for the construction of a bridge in Ulan-Ude was terminated - the court confirmed the legality of this decision. In Mordovia, regional authorities demand that maximum sanctions be applied to the contractor due to the disruption of the construction deadlines for the highway. In Bashkortostan, a criminal case was initiated for the non-payment of wages to workers.

      All of this paints a picture of systemic difficulties for the company. In March 2026, "Khotkovsky Avtomost" was declared bankrupt. The decision to introduce supervision was made by the Arbitration Court of the Moscow Region in February of this year. The lawsuit to declare the company insolvent was filed by the interdistrict tax authority of Russia for the city of Sergiev Posad. The company's tax debt amounted to 206 million rubles.

      OJSC "Khotkovsky Avtomost" was established in 1998 during the reorganization of OJSC "Avtomost". It is registered in the settlement of Mostovik in the Sergiev Posad district of the Moscow region. It specializes in the construction and reconstruction of highways and motorways. The company has numerous large federal projects to its credit, including bridges over the Klyazma in Pavlovsky Posad, over the Sistra River on the federal highway Moscow - St. Petersburg, and others. The main