Czech Republic wants to build a new embassy in the USA for half a billion

Prague - Czech diplomacy wants to build a new embassy building in the USA for half a billion crowns, a plan approved by the government today. The current building, which was constructed in 1969, has inadequate systems according to diplomats and has other deficiencies as well. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, repairing the building would be too costly, as it has never been comprehensively renovated. Therefore, a new construction is worthwhile, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated in response to a query from ČTK.
Diplomacy already has an architectural design for the building, with the winner emerging from an international competition in 2010. The project by the architectural studio Chalupa architekti was selected.
"The start of construction is currently planned for 2014 according to the existing timeline. Due to austerity measures in the state budget, it is not possible at this time to estimate whether this timeline will be kept," the Ministry stated. However, after government approval, the first elaboration of the project will now begin, and a so-called "preliminary project" will be created.
"This is a necessary initial phase of any major architectural work. It includes geological and pedological surveys on the embassy grounds and the adaptation of the competition architectural project to local conditions in Washington," added the Czernin Palace.