The reconstruction of the ZUŠ in H. Králové may be complicated by a defective contract

Hradec Králové - The reconstruction and renovation of the Střezina Art School in Hradec Králové, which is currently the city's largest investment project, may be complicated by a mistakenly signed variant of the contract between the city and the construction company Prima. The city council approved the new wording of the contract today, but the company Prima makes signing it conditional on the conclusion of additional annexes. "We will discuss this with the company," said Deputy Mayor for Investments Jindřich Vedlich to the councilors.

The renovation of the school, costing around 160 million crowns, began with the handover of the construction site on January 18 of this year and has so far, according to Vedlich, accumulated weeks of delays. The complications with signing the correct version of the contract arose due to an error by the investment department, which, according to its head Valentýn Avramov, did not adequately review the contract text.

Councilor Martin Hanousek from the opposition group Changes for Hradec criticized the work of the investment department. "I am shocked by the materials we receive from the investment department. No one knows what is changing in the contract compared to the wording in the contract register. It's manipulation," thinks Hanousek. He unsuccessfully proposed that the discussion of the new contract be postponed to clearly state what is changing in the contract.

According to councilor Lubomír Štěpán (KSČM), the best solution would be to completely terminate the contractual relationship with the company Prima and reissue the entire contract to achieve a legally stable condition. "It will cost us some time, but not time in prison," said Štěpán.

The company Prima complains about poor construction documentation. Lawyer and representative of Prima Pavel Moník recently told Czech Television that "according to the documents as currently provided, it is not possible to execute the work." Prima's executive Jaroslav Javorský told ČTK in mid-May that the company is doing everything possible to complete the project.

In the event of terminating the contract and issuing a new tender, everything would be delayed by approximately one year, according to Vedlich. He warned that the company Prima risks making a significant loss on the construction, amounting to 20 to 30 million crowns.

The councilors also approved an annex to the contract relating to additional and reduced work. The building will also require asbestos remediation and it will be necessary to move the position of the elevator. Instead of the originally agreed 154.46 million crowns excluding VAT, the city will now have to pay 155.02 million crowns.

The Střezina Art School, which serves over 2,000 students, has been waiting for its modern building for a quarter of a century. The main part of the project is the reconstruction of the former pavilion-style Jih Primary School in Slezské Předměstí, where the school already has its main headquarters. The school has not limited its education due to the repairs. According to the progress of the repairs, individual buildings will be released for renovations, and the school will also make more use of its two other buildings on Na Střezině Street and in Třebechovická Street for teaching.