Ostrava University will seek a contractor for construction worth a billion

Ostrava - Ostrava University would like to announce a tender for contractors for the construction of new university buildings by mid-June. The facilities worth about one billion crowns could thus begin construction yet this year, said university spokesman Adam Soustružník today to ČTK.

According to him, design offices are currently providing the necessary documentation for the construction, which will subsequently be checked and approved by the Ministry of Education and representatives of the statutory city of Ostrava. "If everything goes according to plan, we will announce the tender by mid-June. I believe that ideally by September, we will know the general contractor for the construction," Soustružník said.

The university wants to build two buildings at the Černá louka exhibition grounds. One will serve as a facility for sports, while the second building will house the Faculty of Arts. The money for the one billion crown constructions was obtained by the university from the Operational Program Research, Development, and Education as part of the Restart project, which aims to help initiate changes in the Moravian-Silesian, Ústí, and Karlovy Vary regions. According to the spokesman, the university expects to complete the buildings in 2021.

The university received the land for the construction of the buildings as a gift from the city, which will take care of the construction of an underground parking lot with 160 spaces beneath one of the buildings.

The planned Center for Healthy Movement will provide a base for the Department of Human Movement Studies. According to the head of the project department at Ostrava University, Petr Svoboda, the building will include a large sports hall, gymnastics rooms, and a climbing wall. He noted that a running track on the upper floor will be a prominent feature of the building, leading through laboratories where the movement of runners will be studied. "There is also a plan for a unique green roof that can be used for sports," Svoboda added. Thus, Ostrava University will gain its own sports facility, which, as the only university in the country, it currently does not have and has to rent. However, the sports facility will also be accessible to the public.

The second building will provide facilities for students of music and visual arts. This building will also serve the public, as it is planned to host international exhibitions and concerts. Students of this faculty have so far had to use temporary facilities, which are not very suitable for artistic disciplines. The campus will also allow the university to teach new fields, such as industrial design or coaching.