Bartoš: The competition for the digitization system was won by Servodata

Prague - The competition for the supply of a system for the digitization of building regulations was won by the company Servodata. In today's discussion program on TV Nova "Five Minutes to Twelve," said the Minister for Regional Development Ivan Bartoš (Pirates). The original provider, the company InQool, was prohibited from fulfilling the contract for the system by the Office for the Protection of Competition. The ban will take effect on September 23. Bartoš has faced criticism for delays and difficulties with the digitization of building regulations, mainly from the parliamentary opposition, but concerns are also being voiced from the government coalition. Bartoš stated that he does not believe that anyone new in his ministerial position could have pushed the project forward better than he has.

"It is the company Servodata," Bartoš said regarding the selection of the new company. He expects that the new supplier will likely take over part of the existing suppliers. "The competition was held on Friday. On Monday, the contracts will be normally in the register of contracts. We are completely transparent,” said Bartoš. However, he noted that he was surprised that the name of the winner is already known. "I will ask at the ministry who has an open mouth," he remarked, pointing out that the relevant company already learned about it anyway, as the information ended up on the social network X.

Servodata has been operating in the domestic market for three decades and is among the most significant IT companies in the Czech Republic. It is part of the consulting group Moore Global.

"Given that the system is open source and modular, it can be further developed," the minister said. "We have launched a dynamic purchasing system, where about 24 companies are registered at the ministry, which orders digital project solutions in the same way from the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, the Ministry of Transport, and Cendis. We currently have another phase of the project worth about 23 million," he stated.

Regarding the criticisms directed at him for the digitization of building regulations, Bartoš mentioned that he does not think anyone could have better completed the project. "I believe it is necessary to complete the project, to strengthen the team,” he stated. "The responsibility is certainly not to get up from the table and say: I am leaving, eat it,” he added.

"I appreciate that it has been initiated. There was definitely no way to delay the start. Where I think the minister could derive his personal responsibility is to admit that at some point in April, the bypass should have been thought of," said Bartoš's partner in the discussion, the chairman of the Czech Chamber of Architects, Jan Kasl. According to Kasl, it would have been sufficient to include a transitional period in the law in the spring that would allow the use of old methods of submission and transfer of documents, for example, until June 2027, by which time old documentation could still be used. "Then there would not have been the wave before July 1; it would have spread over a longer period for the building authorities," believes Kasl.

He believes the mistake was also that the companies supplying the system are not experts in construction law and related administrative law. He added that he is distrustful of large IT systems because, according to him, anything can be spent on them in the Czech Republic, and they work as they work.