The project preparation for the reconstruction of the pool in Liberec is ongoing; it was supposed to be completed a year ago.

Liberec – Project preparation for the reconstruction of the municipal swimming pool in Liberec, estimated at around a billion crowns, has not yet concluded. The city should have had the executive documentation necessary to issue a call for construction work available for over a year. The Deputy Mayor for Economy, Zbyněk Karban, believes they could have it by this summer.

Although the company selected by the city hall prepared the executive documentation, the city leadership is not satisfied with the result. It is based on comments from a supervisor, a company hired by the city hall to oversee the design work. Given the ongoing negotiations, Karban does not want to be specific for now. "I believe we will reach an agreement that is acceptable for both parties, nobody wants to go to court," Karban told reporters. He anticipates that a resolution could be reached in May. "Of course, we need to adjust the contractual documents concluded with those entities. And if we manage to do this, and I believe we will, as an external lawyer is working on it, there will be nothing to prevent the executive documentation from being completed by summer," added the deputy mayor.

The Liberec swimming complex, built according to the design of architect Pavel Švancer in the mid-1980s at Market Square, urgently needs repairs. Important technological equipment is aging, the roof leaks, the glazing of the building does not meet standards, and the main pool's basin is leaking. The city hall has been preparing the modernization of the complex since 2015. According to the original plans, the modernization should have been completed several years ago, but work will likely not begin until 2023 at the earliest.

At the end of last year, the city hall commissioned a report from the Czech Technical University (ČVUT) on the condition of the pool. The authors recommended closing the pool due to its poor condition, which the city hall does not want to do, and they will spend nearly 17 million crowns this year on necessary repairs. However, the report from ČVUT indicates that over 140 million crowns are needed just to eliminate serious defects.

The planned major modernization of the pool does not have the support of the opposition, which advocates for the city to pursue gradual repairs in stages. They argue that the indebted Liberec does not have the funds for a large-scale modernization of around a billion. According to Karban, however, a complete reconstruction is necessary, as even repairs costing 100 to 150 million crowns would only delay the problem. "The reconstruction would still have to happen, and that in a very short time," he added.