The potential demolition of the water park is unacceptable according to the leadership of Příbram

Příbram - The potential demolition of the aquapark in Příbram is unacceptable according to the city's leadership. This possibility, mentioned in a study prepared by the Sports Facilities of the city of Příbram, would, according to Mayor Jan Konvalinka (for ANO), be ineffective and very expensive. The city council is struggling to find a construction company capable of repairing the pool. They had to cancel a repeated tender as the only applicant did not meet the tender conditions. The councilors will decide how to proceed with the reconstruction project worth hundreds of millions of crowns at the May meeting, Konvalinka told reporters today.

The main problem with the aquapark lies in the technology, some of which is decades old. The prepared study describes the state of the complex and the options for its future. According to the mayor, the proposed solutions can be categorized into two groups based on whether they consider full or partial utilization of the existing project, or propose to create a completely new project. The most expensive option is to demolish and build a new aquapark. The mayor considers the proposals to reconstruct the old aquapark or build a new one while repurposing the old one as more acceptable.

"Options that involve the demolition of the existing structure are practically unacceptable to us," Konvalinka stated. According to him, this is not just for financial reasons, but also for technical and ideological ones. The pool is connected to the sports hall, and demolition would cost tens of millions of crowns more. Moreover, the buildings of the aquapark are not in such poor structural technical condition that, after modifications, they could not continue serving, for instance, as community facilities.

The material from the city's sports facilities will be discussed by the councilors at the beginning of May, after which a meeting of the councilors is scheduled for Sunday, May 14, and subsequently, on May 22, the councilors are expected to decide on the next direction, namely whether to utilize the existing project or create a new one. "Then an expert group will be established, composed of both experts in the fields of construction, pool technology, and so on, as well as political representatives, who will further develop the specific branch of that solution," added Konvalinka. In the fall, the council should again decide on a specific variant.

In the past, the councilors set a price ceiling for the reconstruction at 350 million crowns excluding VAT. However, the only applicant offered 405 million crowns excluding tax. Thus, they did not meet the conditions of the announced procedure, and the council decided to exclude them and cancel the tender process.

Příbram has been planning this project for several years, with discussions starting in 2016. In May 2020, they halted work on preparing the most extensive reconstruction variant. According to Konvalinka, the project had grown too large and the price would exceed half a billion crowns. Therefore, the councilors decided to reduce the maximum price, which they later adjusted again due to developments in construction prices.

According to opposition councilor Václav Švenda from the Allies, the new aquapark should have been operational a long time ago. Konvalinka argues that the city council faced a large number of inquiries from potential suppliers, to which they had to respond. At the same time, he claims they were trying to prepare the contract as well as possible.