The National Museum cannot yet sign a contract for the reconstruction

Brno/Praha - The National Museum (NM) is not allowed to conclude a contract with the winner of the three billion crown tender for the construction part of the reconstruction of its historical building in Prague. The Office for the Protection of Competition, which is handling the contract proposed by the Brno-based OHL ŽS, issued a preliminary measure. CTK was informed of this today without further details by the chairperson of the Office, Petr Rafaj. According to the museum director Michal Lukeš, however, the tender can continue, and the signing of the contract was not on the agenda anyway. His deputy Milan Plaček added that if the Office complies with the deadlines set by law, its decision would not affect the timeline for concluding the reconstruction contract.
    The Brno-based OHL ŽS was disqualified from the tender. The museum previously explained this by saying that its bid was submitted after the deadline. The company delivered its bid to the wrong address - the reception of the public procurement administrator Gordion. Thus, it reached the evaluation committee too late.
    Lukeš told CTK that the Office's decision does not pose a complication for the National Museum at this time. According to Plaček, they will continue to proceed with the public procurement as planned. "The submitted price offers need to be thoroughly examined; the evaluation will not be short, it may take up to four months before we select a candidate and invite them to conclude a contract. If the Office decides within the timelines set by administrative procedures, which means a maximum of 60 days, we will deal with it," Plaček told CTK.
    The ND will not be able to conclude the contract if at the time of selecting the tender winner, the Office's decision is not known. The Office allegedly does not always adhere to some deadlines.
    The historical building of the museum has been closed since July 2011. On November 18, the museum received seven bids in the selection process for the construction contractor for the reconstruction, which will be evaluated in the coming months by members of the committee appointed by the government. The contract value is nearly three billion crowns, including VAT. The implementation is expected to last 42 months.
    The preparatory phase of the reconstruction ended at the beginning of last year and cost 548 million crowns. This included costs for relocation, remediation, completion of the repositories in Terezín, and modifications to the building of the former federal parliament. Another tender was announced for the restoration of sculptures and furnishings. This year, architects for the new exhibitions will be selected; 500 million crowns are allocated for their preparation. The museum is set to open in 2018, when it will celebrate its 200th anniversary.
    At the beginning of December 2013, the last sculptures and busts, which form a significant part of its internal artistic decoration, left the historical building of the National Museum in Prague. Specialists transferred 14 sculptures and 62 busts representing notable figures in Czech history, science, and culture to specialized workplaces.