The magistrate will contribute 30 million CZK more to the construction of the gorilla pavilion

Prague - Prague will spend nearly 30 million crowns more than planned on the construction of a new gorilla pavilion in the Prague Zoo. At the request of the zoo director in Troja, the City Council approved the increase in the original investment. The costs for the entire project rose from the planned approximately 243 million to 272.5 million crowns. The zoo will announce a new tender by the end of the week, said today the spokesperson for the Prague Zoo, Lenka Pastorčáková.

Five companies participated in the original competition. Their bids ranged from 287 million to 294 million crowns, including VAT. Due to the high prices, the Prague Zoo canceled the tender.

In the new competition, the zoo plans to change the conditions, for example, it will not require companies to have experience with building construction in zoos. The Prague Zoo thus anticipates a higher number of participants. Submitted bids must not exceed 225 million without VAT, which is approximately 272 million including VAT, Pastorčáková confirmed.

So far, about 40 million crowns have already been invested in the project documentation.

The new pavilion is expected to start construction this fall. It should be completed within two years. Besides gorillas, pangolins will also live here. Their donation was promised by the zoo in Taipei.

The Prague Zoo decided to construct a new gorilla pavilion due to the looming floods and experiences from 2002 and 2013. The current pavilion is located in the lowest part of the zoo and will be moved higher.

The new gorilla pavilion was to begin construction as early as 2016. However, the project was delayed by objections from the Troja district office and two local interest groups that disagreed with the intended construction. The existing pavilion from the 1990s was built in the lowest part of the zoo, and a flood protection tower was supposed to provide shelter for the animals. During the floods in 2002, however, it was completely submerged, and the gorillas had to be evacuated.