The Kaplický library can reportedly be built for less than 2.5 billion

Prague - The Foundation for the Library reportedly calculated that it would be possible to build the new National Library (NK) according to the design by Jan Kaplický for 2.3 billion crowns. The foundation, which launched a collection for the realization of the architect's proposal after Kaplický's death, plans to present the cost assessment at a press conference in Prague on Tuesday. The construction price was cited from various sources and varied over time between two and six billion crowns.
    However, the price is probably not the biggest problem regarding the library's construction. The issue is the location; Prague did not sell the originally planned plot of land in Letná to the National Library. According to representatives of Prague, the organizer of the international architectural competition, namely NK, should not have held the competition without land.
    The former director of NK, Vlastimil Ježek, claimed that he relied on the city's resolution that it would sell the land to the library in the future. After President Václav Klaus and the Prague ODS disagreed with Kaplický's proposal, the case escalated politically, and Ježek lost his position due to alleged poor preparation of the competition. According to some politicians, the issue of the new building has been postponed as a pre-election topic for the next parliamentary elections; after the announcement of early elections, it is not yet clear whether any party will fight for Kaplický's project.
    The new construction price was calculated by the company Arcadis, but organizers do not want to disclose any further information, referring to the press conference. They also do not want to reveal the status of the collection's account. The conference is expected to be attended by representatives of the Foundation for the Library Olga Sommerová, Ivo Mathé, and Jan Kasl, managing director of Arcadis Pavel Havlíček, and Alena Jankovcová from the National Library.
    Arcadis, according to information on its website, specializes in managing construction projects, providing related consultancy to investors, and environmental protection in the construction field. It has 200 branches in a hundred countries. It works for private investors, banks, multinational companies, public institutions, and government organizations, and also engages in the renovation of historical monuments.
    From the references mentioned on the internet, it can be gleaned that the company has collaborated on the creation of many large new constructions in Prague and other cities, on the reconstruction of the Picture Gallery of Prague Castle, the Lion Courtyard, and the local Bažantnice.