<div> Czech pavilion at the Expo will start trial operation, but it lacks water </div>

Prague - The Czech pavilion is currently the most advanced building at the exhibition site for the World Expo 2015 in Milan and is scheduled to begin trial operations on April 1. This is stated in a report for the government meeting on Monday by the general commissioner of the Czech participation, Jiří F. Potužník. The main issue for the Czech pavilion, which features an outdoor pool and exhibits of live plants, is still the unestablished water supply. Regarding potential participation in the next Expo in 2020, Potužník recommends that the cabinet decide much earlier than in the case of the current World Expo, which starts on May 1.
    The total budget for the Czech participation ultimately amounted to 200 million crowns, according to the report. According to the government's decision, it was supposed to range between 180 and 260 million, with the state contributing 130 million from the budget of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and from reserves after the last Expo in Shanghai in 2010. The remaining budget was to be secured by the organizers from private or public entities, from which they managed to raise 70 million crowns - 40 million from private companies and 15 million each from the Ministry of Industry and Trade and from the CzechTourism agency.
    "At this moment, we are listed as the most advanced building, and on April 1 - a month before the opening - we want to open the exhibition in trial operation," Potužník stated. The day before the trial operation starts, Foreign Minister Lubomír Zaorálek (ČSSD) will visit the pavilion for a tour, who, according to the general commissioner, will still see the removal of the last unfinished work before the trial operation begins on April 1.
    "At one o'clock in the afternoon, we will activate all energy sources inside to know that the pavilion can handle it and that we have the power supply the Italians promised. We want to be sure of this before May 1, because if we do not have as much electricity as we need, or if it does not work, our plants might wilt, or the restaurant might not function, and those are things we want to avoid," Potužník explained to ČTK.
    He also hopes that the Italian organizers will ensure water supply, the absence of which complicates not only the full functionality of the Czech pavilion but also the completion of booths for other participating countries. "Since we have live biotopes in the pavilion, this is a problem for us," Potužník asserts. A major attraction of the Czech pavilion is expected to be the pool in the hot Italian summer, which, according to the commissioner, is still empty. "The pool is finished. There is a sculpture by Lukáš Rittstein installed. The only remaining 'but' is that we do not have water," he noted.
    The report to the government also includes recommendations for potential participation in Expo 2020 in Dubai. "If there is to be participation in Dubai and if the state does not want to pay for everything, it should decide a little earlier than it did for this Expo, when we had only two years for everything," Potužník summarized the recommendations.
    The Czech pavilion is assembled from recyclable modules made by the Vizovice-based company Koma, which are intended to be used even after the exhibition. It will present the Czech Republic, its regions, and Czech achievements in science and modern technologies to its visitors. The Milan Expo will open its doors on May 1 and will last for six months. Its main theme will be Food for the Planet, Energy for Life.