Stopping corruption in construction through digitalisation

Written by Anton Yermakov, Communication Expert at the e-Governance Academy 

Digitalising construction is an important step in strengthening transparency, safety and trust in public administration. By replacing the human factor with transparent, rulebased digital processes, Ukraine is setting a new standard for the construction sector, with the e-Governance Academy supporting this transformation.

Few sectors test the integrity of public administration as severely as the construction industry. Large budgets, complex regulations and high discretion at the final stages of decision-making have traditionally made construction one of the most corruption-prone areas of governance worldwide. Ukraine is no exception.

According to the National Agency on Corruption Prevention, construction and real estate have ranked among the sectors with the highest perceived corruption risks for years. Yet over the past five years, Ukraine has quietly rewritten the rules of the game – not through increased control alone but through systemic digitalisation.

At the core of this change is a principle that has long guided Estonia’s digital state and now shapes Ukraine’s reform path: minimising the human factor through digital means. Standardised, traceable and transparent processes reduce the chance for misuse – not because people become perfect but because the system prevents arbitrary decisions.

From fragmented procedures to a single digital standard

The launch of Ukraine’s Unified State Electronic System in the Construction Sector marked a structural shift in how construction-related services are delivered.

For the first time, interactions among developers, inspectors, registries and public authorities were brought together in a single digital environment. The system streamlined document submission, synchronised data with key state registers and significantly reduced processing times for administrative services. Most importantly, it replaced fragmented regional practices with a nationwide digital standard, ensuring equal rules for all market participants.

Yet one critical vulnerability remained. The final stage – the commissioning of completed buildings – continued to rely on physical inspections conducted by individual officials. This moment of direct contact between inspector and developer represented the last major corruption risk in an otherwise increasingly digital process.

Turning inspections into a digitally governed process To address this challenge, the Ukrainian authorities introduced the Transparent Construction application. Rather than merely digitising paperwork, the solution re-engineers the inspection process itself. Later, it was supported by the e-Governance Academy team within the EU-funded DT4UA project and enhanced into Transparent Construction 2.0.

Each inspection is now conducted through a step-by-step digital workflow that leaves no room for improvisation. Inspectors authenticate securely, follow a mandatory electronic checklist, document compliance through geotagged photographs and upload all materials directly into the central construction system.

The application enforces completeness: inspections cannot be finalised unless every required element has been verified and documented. Metadata embedded in photos prevents substitution, manipulation or retroactive changes. In practice, this means that the system guides the inspector, not the other way around.

What once depended on subjective judgment is now governed by predefined rules, digital evidence and automated validation.

Closing loopholes by design

The evolution from the first version of the application to Transparent Construction 2.0 illustrates a core lesson of digital governance: meaningful reform is an iterative process.

Early implementation revealed technical and procedural gaps, which were closed in the updated version with the support of the e-Governance Academy’s experts. Transparent Construction 2.0 introduced stricter validation logic, mandatory minimum documentation thresholds and the automatic generation of inspection reports, which are transmitted directly to the digital construction register.

As a result, practices that once enabled abuse, such as partial inspections, selective documentation or informal agreements, are no longer technically feasible. The system does not simply record actions; it prevents non-compliant behaviour from occurring.

Economic and anti-corruption impact

Quantifying the full anti-corruption effect of such reforms is inherently difficult. However, a study by Civitta suggests that the broader digitalisation of construction services in Ukraine may generate economic benefits exceeding €60 million annually, driven by faster procedures, reduced administrative costs and the elimination of informal payments.

For developers, transparent processes mean predictability and fairness. For citizens, they translate into safer buildings and access to publicly verifiable inspection results. For the state, they strengthen institutional credibility and oversight capacity.

Crucially, all inspection data is set to become publicly accessible through the construction system’s portal, enabling civic oversight. Investors, homeowners and journalists can verify whether buildings were commissioned lawfully, when inspections took place and whether all requirements were met. Transparency thus extends beyond internal control; it becomes a shared public safeguard.

A model with global relevance

While developed in response to Ukraine’s specific challenges, the Transparent Construction solution addresses a universal governance dilemma: how to regulate high-risk sectors without overburdening them with bureaucracy or relying solely on punitive controls.

The answer lies in process-level digitalisation, where integrity is embedded into workflows rather than enforced.

Ukraine’s experience builds on decades of Estonian practice but adapts it to a vastly different scale and context. In doing so, it demonstrates that digital governance is not about copying solutions but about translating principles into locally effective systems.

As many countries continue to grapple with corruption risks in construction and infrastructure development, Ukraine’s approach provides a practical and scalable reference point.

The lesson is clear: when rules are embedded in systems, transparency becomes a default condition rather than an effort. And when computers, not people, enforce compliance, the most common forms of corruption simply lose their operating space.