Prague will restore the Industrial Palace itself

Prague - The capital city will restore the Industrial Palace, the left wing of which was completely destroyed by a fire last October. The city council made this decision today. Prague estimates the reconstruction costs to be 1.5 billion crowns. From this amount, it also intends to modify the preserved central part of the palace and build a underpass. The city will now have project documentation prepared.
    "The underpass under the Industrial Palace will connect the entrance area of the Exhibition Grounds with the central part of the complex, where the Křižík Pavilions and other buildings are located, which will simplify movement within the area," said councilor Milan Richter (ODS) to reporters. "We want the fastest possible restoration of the Industrial Palace and refuse to wait any longer and waste time negotiating with the tenant," he added.
    Since November, Prague has been trying to persuade the tenant of the Exhibition Grounds, the company Incheba, to sign an amendment to the lease agreement, which should ensure the restoration of the Industrial Palace. According to the amendment formulated by Prague, the destroyed wing of the palace should be rebuilt by the end of September 2010 using the money that Incheba will receive from insurance. If the money paid by the insurance companies for the reconstruction is not sufficient, Incheba would have to cover the restoration from its own funds. Conversely, if the invested amount is lower than the insurance payout, the remaining money should be transferred to Prague by Incheba.
    However, the amendment has not yet been signed, as Incheba's spokesperson Radovan Ježovič stated earlier that it is currently difficult to reach an agreement when it is unclear how much the reconstruction will cost, there is no building project, and the insurance company has not yet determined the exact amount of possible insurance payments, as the investigation is still ongoing.
    The capital city already requested the court last week to block the payment of the insurance for the fire-damaged Industrial Palace to Incheba. It fears that Incheba might use the insurance money for other purposes.
    The fire at the Industrial Palace was caused by an electric cooker left on, according to the police, and the investigation into the case could conclude by the end of March.
    Due to the unsigned amendment, Prague has also postponed the transfer of the exhibition of paintings "Slav Epic" from Moravský Krumlov to the Křižík Pavilion at the Exhibition Grounds. The works of Alfons Mucha were supposed to move to the metropolis this spring, but it is now clear that they will remain at the Moravský Krumlov castle until the end of June and likely longer.
    The contract with Incheba is reportedly disadvantageous for the city; Richter had previously claimed that it is almost impossible to terminate. In exchange for a favorable rent of ten million crowns per year, Incheba committed in the contract to invest one billion crowns in the complex by 2015. Part of it should have been invested in previous years, but that did not happen.