Liberec will announce a construction tender worth over a billion for the repair of the swimming pool

Liberec - The Liberec City Hall will announce its largest construction contract to date. This involves the reconstruction and modernization of the swimming pool with an estimated cost of 1.074 billion korunas. Interested parties will have 60 days to submit their bids, which is twice the legal deadline. This was stated today by Deputy Mayor Petr Židek (ODS).

"Logically, that deadline will probably be extended, because we expect there will be some inquiries and clarifications. So I anticipate that the publication period for this contract could easily be extended to up to 90 days," said Židek. According to him, all documents are currently being uploaded to the contracts bulletin. "So I expect it to be published tomorrow (on Thursday)," he added.

For the fifth largest city in the country, this is the first contract worth more than one billion korunas. "This is also due to how time progresses. A contract that perhaps 20 years ago had a value of 600 million, would today have a higher value," the deputy said.

Some opposition members in Liberec criticize the approved form of the pool modernization. They consider it unnecessarily expensive and unsuccessfully proposed at the last council meeting in June that the reconstruction should be done in phases and on a smaller scale. "It is the most expensive swimming pool reconstruction project in Czech history," said opposition councilor Jindřich Felcman (LOL) at that time. According to him, 67 public swimming pools have been reconstructed in the country over the last 15 years, and only in one case did the cost exceed half a billion korunas.

The Liberec swimming stadium at Tržní náměstí dates back to the mid-1980s. Last year, it had over 460,000 visitors. The facility includes three pools, including a fifty-meter pool, two waterslides, whirlpools, a slide, saunas, a Kneipp path, and other attractions. The sports facility needs repair - important technological equipment is aging, and there are leaks in the roof. The glazing of the building is also unsatisfactory, and the main pool's vat is leaking. It is also awaiting significant reconstruction. The most notable change will be that there will no longer be separate changing rooms for men and women on the ground floor, but a large barrier-free changing room will be created in the basement of the building. The wellness area will be newly located where the current women's changing rooms are, and the fitness area will be newly located where the men's changing rooms are. Thus, apart from the pools, only the restaurant will remain in its place.

If there are no complications in selecting the contractor, the almost complete reconstruction of the swimming stadium should begin at the beginning of next year. The work will last two years, during which the facility will be completely closed.