The police are investigating the construction of the Troja Bridge for suspected fraud

Photo: tunelblanka.cz

Prague - The Anti-Corruption Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the construction of the new Troja Bridge on suspicion of committing crimes of fraud and breaches of duty in the management of foreign property. CTK was informed of this by police spokesperson Jaroslav Ibehej without further details. The police had refrained from commenting on their interest in the bridge project for several months. Only now have they revealed the specific criminal offenses they are investigating.
    Ibehej declined to comment on whether the investigation also concerns other buildings and contracts. According to him, no one has been charged in this regard so far. The bridge, which is being constructed in connection with the Prague tunnel complex Blanka, will cost over 1.1 billion crowns.
    In mid-June, the Prague city council reported that the police had taken documents related to the construction of the Troja Bridge from the municipal investor's department. The now-former deputy mayor Karel Březina (CSSD) told the newspaper Právo that the police had requested documentation dating back to 2005. However, according to his statements at the time, the city leadership did not have information about what the police were investigating. According to Právo, the company Metrostav, which is the main builder of the tunnel complex, also requested materials.
    Jiří Toman previously headed the municipal investor's department. He was responsible for contracts worth tens of billions of crowns. Toman was considered one of the most powerful men in the Prague city hall, and there was speculation about his connections to lobbyist Roman Janoušek. He was linked with other influential officials to controversial contracts. He left his post early this year under pressure from the new city leadership.
    The Troja Bridge is intended to connect Holešovice and Troja. Initially, it was supposed to cost about 400 million crowns, but after a later change in construction and architectural solutions, the price almost tripled, increasing by about 720 million crowns. The city council commissioned a study from Alena Kohoutková from the Department of Concrete and Masonry Structures at the Faculty of Civil Engineering of CTU because of this. According to Březina's earlier statements, the study concluded that completing the already started bridge is the cheapest and quickest option. Returning to the original project, according to Březina, would carry several risks - the construction would apparently likely be prolonged and probably also become more expensive.
    The basic structure of the bridge has already been built by the construction workers. From spring, the mounting of the arch, which will measure up to 20 meters in height from the roadway, is set to begin. According to earlier statements by Miloslav Hadrava, director of Division 2 at Metrostav, the bridge is expected to be completed by mid-2013 sufficiently for trams to be transferred from the neighboring bridge, which will then be demolished. Motorists, cyclists, and pedestrians will have to wait a bit longer for the bridge to become operational.
    The bridge is being constructed in connection with the Blanka complex. The city leadership announced in October that the city would pay at least 36 billion for the construction. Thus, the Blanka tunnel will be at least eight billion more expensive than the original plans. The complex is expected to be operational by April 2014 at the latest.