The Industrial Palace will be taken over by builders, they are to restore the monument damaged by the fire

Prague – Representatives of the city council and the municipal company Výstaviště Praha will hand over today the Industrial Palace to a construction company for renovation, which burned down in 2008. The costs of the restoration are expected to be around 2.64 billion CZK, and it is to be completed in 2024. In addition to the reconstruction of the burned wing, the second wing and the central section will also be repaired. The work will be carried out by the consortium Company for the Industrial Palace led by Metrostav. The effort to complete the project has been accompanied by long-term difficulties.

The selected consortium, which also includes Avers and Syner alongside Metrostav, will build a replica of the burned wing, which, however, will be equipped with modern technologies inside. For heating, it will utilize geothermal heat pumps. The palace will be fitted with air conditioning and so-called shading technology. A new massive basement will be created under the left wing, which will house the facilities for preparing exhibitions.

The effort to restore the palace has been plagued by long-standing problems. The city has been in litigation over insurance money following the fire in the wing. Prague's city councilors decided in 2018 to announce a tender. However, the current city leadership canceled it in October 2019 because it was announced incorrectly. The repair has thus been delayed once again.

The palace was built for the Jubilee Land Exhibition in 1891 according to the design of architect Bedřich Munzberger. From the beginning, it served to host exhibitions and other cultural events, although it was initially meant to be a temporary structure. From 1952 to 1954, the communist government decided to change its function and had the main hall of the palace converted into a social and dance hall. Its name was also changed to the Congress Palace, which was part of the then Park of Culture and Relaxation of Julius Fučík.