<translation>Chamber of Engineers recommends the government to introduce a price list for construction work</translation>

Brno - The Czech Chamber of Authorized Engineers and Technicians Active in Construction (ČKAIT) today recommended the government to introduce a mandatory price list for project and construction works. The government should particularly do this for projects that involve both public administration and the private sector, referred to as Public Private Partnership (PPP), and for contracts issued by the state. The price list should help combat overpricing of construction in the Czech Republic. This was stated today by a representative of ČKAIT at the construction fair IBF in Brno.
    The chamber is therefore preparing, in cooperation with the Czech Chamber of Architects, to present standards for construction performances that clearly define the conditions of contracts between the supplier and the customer. "By introducing standardization, there should no longer be additional demands for further work in public tenders, as the subject of fulfillment would be clearly defined," said the chamber.
    The issue of overpricing in construction, especially of highways for example, appears very frequently in Czech media. According to the chairman of ČKAIT, Pavel Křeček, it cannot be said by how much public contracts are overpriced on average. "But if such a price list existed, then the prices (of public contracts) could not oscillate at the opening of envelopes 60 percent lower than the final price," he stated. A similar price list for selected constructions was also approved last year by the German federal government, according to him.
    The only objective guideline for evaluating the price of completed constructions in the Czech Republic remains the overview published by the Ministry for Regional Development and materials issued by the Union of Entrepreneurs in Construction (SPS). The Czech Statistical Office also publishes data on the value of construction works. However, according to the chamber, these cannot be considered comparative, as the content of all construction items is not clearly stated in them.
    Last autumn, the National Economic Council of the Government (NERV) also concluded in its final report that the construction of infrastructure funded by the public sector is significantly more expensive than the EU average and than the price of residential buildings built with private money. While in Germany or Italy, the construction of infrastructure is cheaper than the construction of residential buildings, in the Czech Republic, on the contrary, it is 62 percent more expensive.
    According to NERV, there are several possible explanations for the more expensive construction of infrastructure in the Czech Republic. These include low competition intensity among construction companies, possible corruption, soft budget constraints on the part of the investor (the state), or intense influence from suppliers who prefer unnecessarily costly solutions. Another possible explanation, according to the council, is the pressure from participants in the proceedings to consider their interests during construction.
    According to the council, a solution could be to increase the powers of the Supreme Audit Office, monitor small-scale contracts by the Office for the Protection of Competition, publish all closed public administration contracts on the Internet, or protect whistleblowers of corrupt practices (so-called Whistleblowing).