The competition for the Czech pavilion at the Expo is canceled

Prague - The office of the general commissioner of the Czech participation at the Expo 2015 in Milan, Italy has canceled the tender for the contractor of the Czech pavilion. No adequate bids were submitted for the competition, which had a deadline today, said Jiří Potužník, the general commissioner of the Czech participation, to ČTK today. The Czech Republic had planned to rent the pavilion from the contractor and co-investor of the Czech participation for ten months.
After the exhibition, it would remain with him and could serve other purposes. According to Potužník, there was no interest in such a variant. The office will therefore announce a new tender, the results of which it hopes to have by the end of the year.
In it, they will again be looking for a comprehensive solution for the Czech participation. This includes the creation of the pavilion and addressing its surroundings, architectural concept, processing of project documentation and necessary permits for the realization of the pavilion, as well as the exhibition, multimedia space in the pavilion, operations, and maintenance. However, this time the result should be a temporary structure that will be dismantled after the Expo ends.
According to Potužník, the interest of private investors is not as strong as some had previously declared. However, we have considered not only the private sector but also cities or municipalities that might be planning a similar structure, Potužník explains. The willingness to invest in the construction of the pavilion is likely lower due to the economic situation.
Last year, the government agreed to the Czech participation in the next World Exposition, with the condition for approval of the project with a budget of 180 to 260 million crowns being the first involvement of the private sector in co-financing. Total contributions from private individuals and other partners were expected to be around 50 million crowns. The government, according to Potužník, should discuss the next steps in finding solutions for Czech participation at the turn of September and October. Changes in the highest political circles in recent months, according to him, do not in any way impede the project of Czech participation at Expo 2015.
It is expected that the internal exhibition of the Czech pavilion should showcase the best that Czech science has to offer to the assigned theme "Food for the planet, energy for life." Italians were particularly interested in the extraordinary discoveries of the Czech Republic in the field of nanotechnology and biochemistry applied in agriculture and water purification, which push the development of the topic into the future.