The Olomouc Town Hall received a fine from the Office for the Protection of Competition for the reconstruction of the square

Brno/Olomouc - The Olomouc City Hall received a fine of 300,000 crowns from the Office for the Protection of Competition (ÚOHS). This is due to errors in a contract from 2011 for the reconstruction of Lower Square. The fine is final, as reported by ČTK from the online collection of ÚOHS decisions. In the last three weeks, this is already the second final sanction that the city hall has received from the antimonopoly office. The first related to the reconstruction of the Flora exhibition ground.

The contract amounting to over 100 million crowns was won by a consortium of companies Strabag and Horstav Olomouc, which submitted a joint bid. However, according to the office, the companies did not meet the qualifications. The head of ÚOHS, Petr Rafaj, has now issued a new decision in this case, which is already final. He modified part of the ruling concerning the city hall's errors, but left the fine at the same level as set earlier by his subordinates.

"The sanction is intended to serve a corrective and preventive role, but it also has a repressive character, as it somewhat remedies the consequences of a legal obligation violation. I believe that the amount of the imposed fine fulfills both of these functions," Rafaj stated.

The leadership of the Olomouc magistrate has not yet decided on the course of action. "We are aware of the ÚOHS decision. The investment department of the Olomouc magistrate prepared an analysis and proposals for further steps for the members of the Olomouc City Council in response to the decision, which the councilors will decide on at Tuesday's meeting. I can add that the procurement procedure for the city of Olomouc was then administered by an external entity," said city hall spokesperson Michal Folta today to ČTK.

The reconstruction of Lower Square in Olomouc was completed in 2013. It was prolonged, among other reasons, due to archaeological research. Archaeologists discovered the foundations of a Romanesque church from the 12th century and a chapel of St. Margaret from the 15th century. Valuable finds also include a burial site near the Neptune fountain. On the research site near the plague column, they also found stone and wooden channel drains from the 14th century as well as extensive pavement in several levels from the 14th to the 16th century.

At the end of February, the Olomouc City Hall received a half-million fine from ÚOHS for errors in the contract for the development of the Flora exhibition ground. The city hall wrongly excluded two companies, the office reported. This decision is also already final. City hall representatives responded to the fine by stating that they would seek recompense from the company that conducted the procurement procedure for the city.