The winner of the contract for the renovation of the swimming pool will be decided by the leadership of Liberec around August

Liberec - The city management will likely decide on the winner of the contract for the reconstruction of the municipal swimming pool for more than three-quarters of a billion crowns in Liberec in August. For now, a new administrator for the competition has been selected, replacing the previous one out of caution due to an investigation into a corruption case associated with former Deputy Mayor Petr Židek (former ODS). Mayor Jaroslav Zámečník (Mayors for the Liberec Region) informed journalists about the selection of the new administrator today.

"We contacted six law firms, received four offers, and Mr. magistrate (Jiří) Kučera was the cheapest," said the mayor. According to him, Kučera was also selected based on good cooperation in the past, with the city paying him around 100,000 crowns for the administration of the project.

Although the city leadership previously stated that it had no information about the influence on this contract, it chose this approach due to information from some media outlets. According to them, this contract is among those being investigated by the police in connection with the charges against the former deputy who was in charge of it. Some media, citing a non-public court order for a house search, reported that Židek is suspected of leaking confidential information, including the terms of the competition for the renovation of the swimming stadium, to another accused, the chairman of the board of Syner Group, Petr Syrovátka. Both have previously denied any wrongdoing.

Out of caution, the city hall not only replaced the administrator of the competition but also had the project documentation verified by the Czech Technical University in Prague.

The deadline for submitting offers for the renovation of the pool expired this February, with six interested parties expressing interest; Syner was not among them. The lowest bid, 748.8 million crowns excluding tax, was submitted by the company Metrostav DIZ, and the city council originally announced it as the winner of the tender. However, due to objections against the winning company, the council had to annul this result in April. The new administrator will be responsible for dealing with the objections. "I expect that if everything goes well, we could convene the evaluation committee in July," said Zámečník. The city hall should also receive a statement from the Czech Technical University this month. "And in August, we could decide again about the winner of the contract," added the mayor.

According to him, they are already preparing for the possibility that the competition might not be successfully concluded if any of the participating companies appeals to the Office for the Protection of Economic Competition. "The crisis plan is such that we are gradually preparing for the eventuality of partially reopening the pool, at least the 25-meter pool over the winter," Zámečník added.

However, only a small part of the complex, which includes three pools, water slides, saunas, hot tubs, and other attractions, would be open. This sports facility, constructed about 40 years ago, urgently needs repairs - important technological equipment is nearing the end of its life, and the roof leaks. The glazing of the building is also inadequate, and the main pool's basin is seeping. The complex is also awaiting reconstruction.