Hradec Králové will likely cancel the third tender for the footbridge over the Elbe

Hradec Králové – The city of Hradec Králové is likely to cancel the third competition for the construction of a footbridge over the Elbe in the Aldis locality. The city council recommended the cancellation of the competition today. The final decision on the cancellation of the tender, for which one bid was submitted, will be made by the councilors at the end of October. This was reported by the city spokesperson Kateřina Šmídová without providing further details. The city has been preparing the construction of the footbridge since 2003.

The city estimated the cost of the footbridge at around 60 million crowns, but the only interested party for the construction offered a price of 140 million crowns in the third tender, according to information from Deník. There was also only one interested party in the second competition, which offered a price of 122 million crowns. The city then canceled the second tender. No one applied for the first one.

Compared to the previous two competitions, the requirements for the third tender were milder. There was no requirement for the contractor to be able to work with the technology of specific high-strength concrete, from which the footbridge is to be made.

Due to delays in the construction of the footbridge, the city faces sanctions of 15.2 million crowns. The reason is that the city committed to the construction of the footbridge in a contract with Československá obchodní banka (ČSOB), which started building a regional headquarters in the Aldis zone last year. The contract states that if the city does not manage to complete the footbridge by April 2020, it must return one third of 45.6 million crowns, for which it previously sold land to the bank for the construction of the headquarters. Therefore, the city is negotiating with the bank to extend the deadline through an amendment to the contract.

The footbridge will connect the Aldis area with the city center. In the past, nature protectors expressed reservations about the footbridge project. The original project involved the felling of an oak tree on the embankment, against which nature protectors successfully protested. Delays and disputes also accompanied the architectural competition. Ornithologists raised objections to the design of the footbridge because the proposed structure could interfere with the flight paths of birds, especially swans. The project was modified due to the comments from ecologists.