Praha rejects criticism for allegedly incorrect selection procedure

Prague - Prague rejects criticism for allegedly incorrectly announced tender for the repair of the Clam-Gallas Palace and the New Town Hall at Mariánské náměstí. Hospodářské noviny (HN) reported on Monday that the city hall shortened the deadlines for companies to apply for the tender. According to Kateřina Šolcová from Gordion, the company that prepared the tender for Prague, such a procedure is allowed by law. The reconstruction is expected to cost about 800 million Czech crowns excluding VAT.
According to HN, the law specifies the shortest duration for the process as 37 days, but the city shortened the deadline to 30 days. Both city hall leadership and Gordion deny violating the law. According to Šolcová, Prague submitted the contract announcement form electronically to the information system, and such a case is covered by an exception, making the thirty-day deadline compliant with the law.
Councillor for culture Ondřej Pecha (ODS), under whose purview the repair of the buildings at Mariánské náměstí falls, rejects the notion that the chosen deadline is too short. He emphasized that in this round of the tender, companies only need to submit documentation proving they meet the tender's qualification requirements. "This is a standard procedure to allow us the broadest possible scope for further processes," he said.
The city hall also decided to narrow down the number of participants in the tender to five. A draw will decide which companies will be allowed to apply for the narrower tender. Such a method has received criticism. According to the new Minister for Regional Development Kamil Jankovský (VV), drawing lots leads to the situation where the winning bid in the tenders is not the most advantageous. He therefore aims to ban such draws. He stated this to Mladá fronta Dnes.
According to Pecha, the capital city will release 20 million Czech crowns this year to begin reconstruction, while decisions on further funds will be made by the newly elected council after the autumn elections when the budget is approved. However, the current leadership will prepare the budget proposal, he added.
The opposition criticizes the intention. "This city leadership should not be announcing any new tenders in a time when there are less than three months left until the elections," stated the leader of the Prague candidate list for the ČSSD Jiří Dienstbier younger. "We hereby call on the city leadership to immediately cancel the contract and leave the decision on whether and how the Clam-Gallas Palace will be reconstructed to their successors,” added councilor Miroslav Poche (ČSSD).
The original project proposal that the city hall presented last October estimated costs at 650 million Czech crowns. According to the director of the city hall's economic department Ladislav Tomeš, the price increased to 800 million due to additional demands from, for example, heritage protection officials while finalizing the plans.
The Clam-Gallas Palace is set to undergo a complete reconstruction, and the baroque monument should be opened to the public. Shops are planned for the ground floor, auctions could also take place here, while exhibitions are planned for the upper floors.
The New Town Hall will be reconstructed according to the original documentation. For instance, the council chamber is to be moved to the upper floors, where a new multifunctional hall will be created.