The arbitrators have resolved the dispute over Blanka: Prague must pay a billion

source: praha.eu

Prague - The arbitration court in the dispute between Prague and the construction company Metrostav regarding unpaid invoices for the Blanka tunnel has ruled that the capital city must pay the last owed billion crowns. The largest portion of this amount is attributed to the problematic Troja Bridge, whose cost will be 1.3 billion crowns. Deputy Mayor Jiří Nouza (TOP 09) and Metrostav spokesperson František Polák confirmed this in response to a query from ČTK. The court thus concluded the dispute after more than eight months. The opening date of the tunnel is still unknown.
    Both Prague and the company welcomed today's court decision. "I am pleased that the dispute has been resolved and nothing prevents the opening of the Troja Bridge," Nouza stated. "The dispute was typical for today's times. The public procurement law ties the hands of builders and investors," Polák said.
    Earlier, the court had ordered Metrostav to complete the tunnel by the end of September and to pay Prague four billion, part of the debt to Metrostav. According to the city's leadership, the arbitrators legalized payments that went beyond the original contracts. The arbitration allowed for the disputed invoices to be legally settled and thus unblocked the work on the construction that was suspended by Metrostav last year, claims TOP 09, which governs in Prague. The final bill for the tunnel complex will be 36.9 billion. Over the years, the construction has become more expensive by several billion crowns.
    Politicians have repeatedly postponed the opening of this key transportation route, and a new date is still not known. The construction part is currently completed. However, delays are occurring in the installation of technologies to be supplied by the company ČKD Praha DIZ. April of next year has been mentioned. "We are working intensively to expedite the deadline," Nouza said today. At the beginning of October, the city will put into operation only the Troja Bridge, which is, however, three times more expensive than the one that was originally planned to connect the banks of the Vltava River in Troja.
    The previous city leadership, led by Mayor Pavel Bém (ODS), which prepared the construction, claimed that the costs for the tunnel complex would be 21 billion crowns. According to the current city leadership, it should have been clear to politicians even then that such an amount was not sufficient to build the tunnel. Before the elections in 2010, Nouza said they already knew that the costs would be around 31 billion.
    Prague is also in arbitration with the construction manager of the Blanka tunnel, the company Inženýring dopravních staveb, due to problematic issues over unpaid invoices.
    Construction of the tunnel complex began in 2007. It was originally supposed to be completed in 2011. Blanka is over six kilometers long. It connects to the Strahov tunnel and ends at the bridge in Troja. It is the longest tunnel in the Czech Republic.