<translation>Ústí will announce a new competition for the reconstruction of the museum</translation>

Ústí nad Labem - The city of Ústí nad Labem is launching a new competition for the reconstruction of the city museum into the center for Czech-German studies, Collegium Bohemicum. The council believes it will be possible to reduce the cost of the reconstruction compared to the first competition. The winner was the Liberec-based company Syner, which requested 324 million crowns for the contract. Ústí's mayor, Jan Kubata, informed journalists about this today.
According to him, the council has appointed an evaluation committee for the competition, which also includes representation from the opposition.
Just a year ago, the city estimated around 165 million crowns for the reconstruction. The mayor attributes the significant increase in price to the age of the project, the rise in construction costs, and new requirements from museum staff for technological equipment. The original amount was also stated without VAT.
Kubata stated that he had talked to the designer of the reconstruction and with heritage protectors. "I am convinced that we can significantly reduce the cost of the construction while maintaining quality and functionality," the mayor noted. However, he did not want to say today by how much the reconstruction could be reduced compared to Syner's offer.
The city has received a grant of 65 million crowns for the reconstruction from the structural funds of the European Union and the state budget. To avoid losing this money, it must meet the completion deadline of June 2008.
The building of the city museum at Lidické náměstí has already been vacated. After the reconstruction, there will be a modern conference and lecture hall, a gallery, exhibition spaces for museum exhibits, study rooms, a library with internet access, storage facilities, archives, staff facilities for museum employees, as well as a café and a children's club for the youngest visitors.
The center for Czech-German studies, Collegium Bohemicum, which will be established in the museum through reconstruction, will focus on research, documentation, scientific analysis, popularization, and care for the cultural heritage related to the rich history of Czech-German relations.
The establishment of a Czech-German museum in Ústí nad Labem was approved by the city council in April 2004. The representatives from the KSČM party also voted for the creation of the museum. The Collegium Bohemicum project was praised by Bavarian Prime Minister Edmund Stoiber at this year's Sudeten German Days in Nuremberg.