The billion-dollar reconstruction of the National Museum has the green light from the Office for the Protection of Competition

Brno - The billion-dollar reconstruction of the historic building of the National Museum in Prague (NM) can begin. The company Strabag did not appeal against its exclusion from the tender. The decision of the Office for the Protection of Competition (ÚOHS) rejecting the company's objections is final. The preliminary measure prohibiting the museum from concluding a contract with the winner has also lapsed. CTK was informed of this today by ÚOHS spokesman Martin Švanda. The building has been closed since 2011. Disputes over the selection of the construction company have delayed the reconstruction, and the latest date for the reopening of the museum is 2018.
    The winner of the tender is the Consortium M-P-I National Museum, whose members are Metrostav, Průmstav, and IMOS Brno.
    "We are pleased that after long months the tender procedure has been officially concluded and the museum can finally start the repairs. At this moment, we are negotiating the contract with the winning consortium, which should be signed around April 15. We plan to ceremoniously hand over the building to the construction team on the afternoon of April 20, and reconstruction can begin," said Michal Lukeš, director of the National Museum, to CTK.
    He firmly hopes that the deadline specified in the contract, which is 42 months from the handover of the building, will be met. "At this moment, we are finalizing the exact schedule of the project. We would be pleased if the construction could be expedited and shortened - but that will obviously depend on further negotiations with the contractor," Lukeš added. According to him, there will be an opportunity for that once the company takes over the building and familiarizes itself with the reality.
    The ÚOHS previously halted the proceedings it conducted based on a proposal from construction companies Hochtief and Geosan Group. The companies withdrew their submissions. The antimonopoly office examined whether Metrostav, Průmstav, IMOS, Skanska, and Strabag provided incorrect references in their applications. The companies faced fines and a three-year ban from participating in public tenders. Hochtief and Geosan Group withdrew their proposal after several months.
    The museum building in Wenceslas Square has been empty since July 2011, but repairs have yet to begin. There is a risk that even the latest reopening date, which is 2018, when the museum will celebrate its 200th anniversary, may not be met. Meanwhile, the winner of the public contract for reconstruction - the Consortium M-P-I National Museum, whose participants are Metrostav, Průmstav, and IMOS Brno, has been known since mid-October 2014. Its offered price of 1.352 billion crowns excluding VAT was evaluated by the selection committee as the most advantageous. According to the schedule, the tender winner was supposed to begin work last year, with the construction period estimated at 42 months.
    The museum reconstruction project includes not only new exhibitions but also spaces for working with school groups. The building will be barrier-free. Visitors will descend from the vestibule to the facilities in the basement, which will include changing rooms and restrooms. On the ground floor, there will be a café, a shop, and a children's corner in the covered courtyard on the left. The covered pavilion on the right side will feature a permanent exhibition with large-scale exhibits. Short-term exhibitions will be held in five exhibition halls on the ground floor, along with restored lecture halls.
    The Pantheon on the first floor will continue to commemorate prominent men and women of Czech science, social life, and art. In other halls, visitors will see the first part of the new permanent exhibition, while the second floor will house an interactive center for students and youth. At the end of the tour, visitors will ascend to the dome, from where they will see the panorama of the historical center of Prague and the Castle. Elevators to the second basement will lead to the connecting corridor with the new building, where they will find more permanent exhibitions, exhibitions, and concert spaces.