Grandi Stazioni is requesting another two years for the restoration of the Fanta building

Prague - The Italian company Grandi Stazioni is requesting an extension of the deadline for the repair of the historic Fantova building at Prague's main railway station by two years. According to the contract, it is to be repaired by October 2016. Together with Czech Railways, they want to find a concept for the use of the building. This was stated today by Michele Mario Elia, the director of Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane Group, the majority shareholder of Grandi Stazioni, after a meeting with Czech Railways head Pavel Krtek.
    The Fantova building with a café is now located away from the main passageways from the platforms to the main hall of the station, where the entrance to the metro is, and a large number of passengers therefore simply bypass it, Elia noted. It is therefore necessary to determine what project will be most suitable for the building, whether it will become a museum or a shopping center. The modifications of the surroundings of the building will also depend on this, whether there will be a parking lot or bus stops in front of it.
    "We are interested in the reconstruction of the historical part of Prague's main railway station taking place as soon as possible," Czech Railways stated regarding today’s meeting. However, no specific agreement was reached today, and both parties are to meet again on the subject.
    Grandi Stazioni has reconstructed the departure hall of Prague’s station for more than one billion crowns and currently has it leased from Czech Railways. Part of the agreement also included the complete repair of the Fantova building, of which approximately 15 percent has been repaired so far. This involves the central part with the dome of the Fantova café, which passengers can see when passing from the departure hall to the tracks.
    According to the contract from 2003, the completion of the repairs of the Fantova building is a condition for the extension of the lease of the station's premises to the Italian company for another 20 years. They had ten years from the issuance of a valid building permit to repair the Art Nouveau building, which originally served, among other things, as a departure hall. The last time the company presented the completion of repairs in the Fantova café was at the end of 2013, for which they are still unsuccessfully looking for a tenant.
    However, according to Grandi Stazioni, this should now change. They are looking to find a new tenant by the end of this year and also wish to return to the repairs of the historic Art Nouveau building sometime this year.
    Grandi Stazioni has been renovating the main railway station since December 2006. In the departure hall, they built a new check-in center, escalators, elevators, and a number of shops, which they now lease commercially. They won the tender for the station's renovation in 2002.