Prague has paid off the debt for Blanka, Metrostav will resume construction on Wednesday

Prague - Prague sent the construction company Metrostav 2.7 billion crowns owed for the construction of the Blanka tunnel a week after the court's decision. Jiří Nouza (TOP 09), the deputy mayor, said this today in response to a question from ČTK. According to spokesman František Polák, Metrostav will return to the construction site next Wednesday. The city and the construction company agreed on this before last week's ruling became legally binding. Both parties agree that they do not want to delay the completion of the construction.
    Prague and Metrostav signed an agreement today stating that the builders will return to work three days after receiving the owed amount. “The bank accepted the payment order. Metrostav will have the amount in its account by Monday,” Nouza said. If this happens, according to Polák, workers will return to the construction site on Wednesday.
    The arbitration court at the Czech Chamber of Commerce ordered Prague last week to pay around four billion crowns, among other things for past invoices, the payment of which the city hesitated due to a potential conflict with the law. After paying the mentioned 2.7 billion, Prague is to repay another 1.34 billion gradually during the construction. The court ordered Metrostav to complete the construction within five months. However, the arbitration has not ended. Metrostav has expanded the lawsuit by another billion crowns, among other things for the Troja Bridge. Additionally, Prague will likely also enter arbitration proceedings with the construction manager, the company Transport Construction Engineering (IDS).
    The dispute between Prague and the builders reached arbitration after Metrostav suspended the construction of the tunnel on December 7 last year. The reason was mainly unpaid invoices, but also because Prague, as the investor, did not approve further work. According to Metrostav, the builders could not continue. Prague claimed that it had the money for the invoices, but according to councilors, it was seeking a legal way to pay them. The city entered arbitration partly due to concerns that the contracts with Metrostav were invalid. However, arbitrators decided a week ago that the contracts were valid.
    The five-month deadline for the completion of the tunnel does not necessarily mean that the first cars will pass through it in September. The ruling only pertains to the construction portion of the project. The question remains whether the technological part will also be completed by then and whether the transport construction will have undergone the necessary tests and trial operation. Furthermore, the approval of the key contract for the construction of the control rooms is still pending. Some sources are already unofficially suggesting that the first cars may not pass through the Blanka until the end of the year. However, Deputy Nouza told ČTK this week that everything can be completed on time. He still believes in the September deadline for the tunnel's operation.
    This important transport construction, which was approved by a previous political regime led by Mayor Pavel Bém (ODS), is expected to cost 36 billion crowns, although it was initially supposed to cost about ten billion less and serve drivers as early as 2011. The deadline was later pushed to spring 2014, and now Prague is talking about September. However, the opposition is questioning this timeline.