The renovation of the gymnasium by Josef Gočár in Hradec will be cheaper

Photo: Ester Havlová

Hradec Králové - The reconstruction of J. K. Tyl Gymnasium in Hradec Králové is expected to cost nearly 40 percent less than anticipated. In the competition, the winning company Prima from Hradec Králové offered a price of 67.5 million crowns excluding VAT, while the estimated price for the tender was at 110 million crowns. The contract is set to be signed, and the company could start work in April. Petr Vinklář from the regional press department told ČTK today.
    Completion of the gymnasium reconstruction is anticipated in the spring of 2013. Approximately 600 students of the school are expected to begin studying in the renovated building from September. Currently, since last November, the school has been located in temporary facilities in the former Institute for the Deaf and Mute on Pospíšilova Street.
    The region repeated the tender for the school's repair. Originally, it wanted to select a company last autumn using a reduction in the number of bidders through a lottery. However, due to suspicions of manipulation of the draw, the region canceled the competition and announced a new tender without a lottery. In the first tender, 13 companies applied for the contract, and in the second, eleven.
    According to Governor Lubomír France (ČSSD), the region is currently achieving significant savings in tenders for other constructions as well. "Probably due to the crisis in construction, companies are willing to go even tens of percent below the set price," he stated. It is then up to the region to ensure the quality and scope of the work performed as stated in the tender documents and in the contract.
    Regarding the gymnasium, the governor reminded that it will not be a simple project. "This is a reconstruction of a historic building, where problems may arise that neither the contractor nor the client anticipated," he noted. The gymnasium on Tyl's Embankment was built according to the project of the prominent architect of Czech cubism and functionalism, Josef Gočár, and is a protected monument. Over two-thirds of the repair costs should be covered by European Union grants.
    Significant price reductions for construction contracts have also been achieved by some local municipalities in the region. For example, for the construction of the Bavlna football complex for the Hradec Králové municipality, the winning company Stako offered 89.9 million crowns excluding VAT, which was nearly 40 million crowns less than calculated by the designer. The city of Jičín reduced the price in the competition for the reclamation of the landfill under Mount Zebín from 60 million crowns to 23.5 million crowns excluding VAT.