The Chamber supported the construction of a new building for the National Library

PRAGUE - The Chamber of Deputies today supported the construction of a new building for the National Library (NK) and requested the ministries of finance and culture to adapt the financial outlook accordingly.
The deputies agreed on this matter, but some warned, among other things, that this several-billion investment should not impact the support for other monuments, including theaters. Representatives from the ODS unsuccessfully proposed to suspend the discussion until both mentioned ministries provide a binding opinion.
"At this moment, I do not dare to say that the Chamber of Deputies has sufficient information to make a decision here," stated the shadow minister of culture Miroslava Němcová from the ODS.
The director of the National Library Vlastimil Ježek welcomes the support from the Chamber and believes it will help secure funding for what he considers an urgent construction and renovation of the historic building of the Prague Klementinum, where the NK is still located. "The money that the Chamber allowed to be drawn from the National Property Fund (FNM) two weeks ago can primarily be used for renovation. Today's decision of the Chamber should carry weight in the budget decisions of the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Finance and their support for the construction of the new building," Ježek told ČTK.
Two weeks ago, the deputies supported a proposal to draw funds from the FNM for the repair of cultural monuments. The original intention of the deputies was to allocate two billion crowns for the renovation of the National Library and the National Museum. However, the deputies ultimately accepted a more general formulation, which lacks a specific amount and defines the range of cultural monuments much more broadly. The directors of both cultural institutions view the conclusion optimistically - that if a specific amount is missing, the support could ultimately be higher than initially intended.
The renovation of the Klementinum will require approximately one billion crowns, and the new building should cost about two billion crowns. The reconstruction of the National Museum is estimated to cost over four billion crowns.
For the construction of the new NK building, land was purchased from the city at the end of Letenská plain near the Hradčanská metro station. The library would like to have the new structure, which would house most of its library collections formed after 1800, completed by 2010. The NK will announce an international architectural competition for the design of the building.