The new town hall in Modřany will cost about 575 million crowns

Prague – The new town hall in Prague 12 will cost about 575 million crowns. An increase in price of 21.5 million crowns was approved by the municipal council on Thursday evening. The previous town hall leadership commissioned the construction modifications. The contractor, Geosan group, has now claimed their reimbursement, otherwise they would halt the construction. This was stated by the deputy mayor of Prague 12, Petr Šula (TOP 09), during the council meeting.

The municipal offices currently operate in seven buildings, which are in poor technical condition. The architectural project for the new town hall is based on the history of Modřany, and the building will take the shape of three sugar cubes. The sugar factory operated in this part of the capital from 1861 until 2005. The costs for building the new Modřany town hall were initially estimated at approximately 470 million crowns. However, the amount continues to rise. Prague 12 received an interest-free loan of 250 million crowns from the capital city for the construction of the new town hall. It must be repaid by 2036.

According to the approved resolution of the council, in recent years the mass of part of the building has been increased, automatic fire extinguishing systems have been added, and more powerful transformers were installed. These elements are already part of the construction and improve its quality, Šula stated.

The previous coalition, composed of ANO, Change for Prague 12, and the ČSSD from 2014 to 2018, did not initiate what is called the change procedure in 2018 and did not discuss the mentioned modifications with the council members, according to the deputy mayor. Therefore, there are no necessary documents for the order. The change procedure only began in February 2019, after the current coalition was formed by representatives of the Pirates, ODS, TOP 09, and the Greens. The builder claimed reimbursement for additional work this year. If the amount were not paid to the company, they would halt construction work. This would likely incur further expenses for the municipality, added the deputy mayor for investments and property, Jiří Fremr (ODS).

According to the former mayor of the municipality, Milan Maruštík (ANO), the then city leadership did not err. "We dealt with the matter in the interim, when the contractor was selected, and we were coming to changes or modifications that needed to be made. This means we stand by the fact that it was correct at that moment and in that situation," he said. According to him, the changes were negotiated at a time when the coalition in Prague 12 was ending, and therefore the change procedure could not be completed.

Whether the previous leadership acted in accordance with the terms of the contract, the law on the capital city of Prague, and other legal regulations will now be investigated by the control committee of the municipality. The council members of Prague 12 tasked the councillors with investigating whether any damage occurred due to the actions of the previous town hall leadership.

Opposition councillor Zbyněk Boublík (Change for Prague 12) labeled the construction as unreliable. Like all present councillors from the opposition parties ANO, Change for Prague 12, and Citizens of Twelve, he abstained from voting.