Companies are disputing with Ostrava over millions for the repair of the cultural house

Ostrava - Companies that previously repaired the Ostrava House of Culture Poklad want to sue the city of Ostrava for 7.3 million. They claim the money for reconstruction and conservation work, for which they allegedly have not been paid since last July. They want to recover the millions through legal means. According to the companies, the city hall's approach was non-standard and possibly intentional. Eva Kijonková communicated this today on behalf of the group of companies. However, the city considers the companies' statements to be one-sided and untrue, and views the alleged intentional damage to the contractor as completely absurd.

The reconstruction of the cultural house has been problematic from the start. It has been ongoing for several years and has not yet been completed. Previous repairs were complicated by disputes with one of the former tenants of the space in the building and problems with demands for the payment of so-called additional work, which the former contractor of the reconstruction wanted. Ultimately, the building had to be conserved in 2014, and the city looked for a new contractor.

The contract was won at that time by a consortium of companies, now the contracting company, Stamont - Civil Engineering and Vítkovice Revmont Engineering. It offered a price of about 180 million crowns, while the project budget was around 240 million. However, last year, the reconstruction was halted again. The city management claimed that it was dissatisfied with the quality of some work and was troubled by alleged delays in construction and disputes regarding the valuation of additional work. In June, the city council decided to terminate the contract with the contracting company.

However, the contractor stated today that the entire reconstruction was poorly prepared, some necessary tasks were not even included in the tender's requirements, and there were proven issues with the building's statics. They claim that there was also a problem with the construction supervisor, who allegedly had non-standard demands on the construction companies. The companies could not agree with the city on replacing the supervisor.

The companies also point out that the biggest deficiency was the unresolved statics of the building, which was compromised. According to the businesses, the project did not address the reinforcement of load-bearing structures, so they presented their own solutions for the reinforcement. However, an addendum to the contract was never signed in this regard. "We were still being criticized for not meeting the planned volumes, when meaningful and technically justifiable procedures were hindered by unresolved static defects and other deficiencies in the project," said Karel Menšík, financial director of Stamont.

Mayor Tomáš Macura (ANO) rejects the criticism. According to him, the city literally has a stack of construction logs that document the inactivity or low quality of the contractor's work from the very beginning of the reconstruction.

Moreover, according to the mayor, an expert report commissioned by the city indicates that the financial claim of the contractor against the city is significantly lower. "And this is also the main reason why the contractor rejected the findings of the expert report prepared by a renowned court expert," said Macura. However, according to him, it still holds that the city prefers an amicable resolution through agreement. "If the other party prefers the path of legal dispute and even criminal charges, that is their choice; however, the burden of proof will be on their side," added Macura.