New Hrádek announced a tender for the construction of a lookout tower

Nový Hrádek - The small town of Nový Hrádek in the Náchod region has announced the third competition for a company that will build an observation tower from the tube of the former wind turbine by the autumn of next year, along with an information center nearby. The estimated price of the contract, including a small parking lot, is 8.56 million crowns excluding VAT, said the mayor of Nový Hrádek, Zdeněk Drašnar, to ČTK today.

The observation tower is the last of four planned along the ridge trail in the Czech-Polish border area in the Hradec Králové region. Two other observation towers are already being built near Olešnice in the Orlické Mountains and in Vysoká Srbská with the support of European subsidies. Recently, an observation tower was opened at Velká Deštná in the Orlické Mountains.

"We would like to have the competition completed by the end of November so that work can begin at the start of next year. Everything should be finished by the autumn of 2020," Drašnar told ČTK.

Compared to the previous competition, the price is somewhat lower. "The estimated value of the contract from the previous competition was 8.9 million crowns excluding VAT. The project documentation has slightly changed," Drašnar said to ČTK. For example, the utilization of the basement of the former transformer station, where the information center will be created, will be abandoned. "As for the observation tower itself, there were no changes," Drašnar said.

The tower on the hill at an elevation of around 600 meters will be constructed from the tube of the wind turbine, which has been standing there since the 1990s. The viewing platform made of metal grids will be 32 meters above the ground. Tourists will have the opportunity to see the ridge of the Orlické Mountains, the Krkonoš Mountains, and even Kunětická hora near Pardubice. Until now, trees have partially obstructed their view. The observation tower will be located on the main red-marked tourist trail, the so-called Jirásková path, which leads from the Náchod region to the Orlické Mountains.

The transformation of the former wind turbine into an observation tower has been pursued by the municipality for several years. The first competition was announced in the winter of 2018, but no company applied. The second competition announced this spring was canceled by the municipality because both applicants significantly exceeded the estimated price.

The wind power plant near Nový Hrádek was the first of its kind in the region, but it was never put into permanent operation and ended up in scrap. Of the four wind turbines, only one remains, along with the former transformer station.

The construction of the observation tower above Nový Hrádek is part of the Czech-Polish ridge project - eastern part, which is carried out by Euroregion Glacensis, uniting cities and municipalities on both the Czech and Polish sides. The aim of the project is to promote tourism in the area.