The budget of the Czech pavilion at the Expo should be increased by 25.2 million CZK

Prague - The budget for the Czech pavilion at the Expo 2020 World Exhibition is set to increase by 25.2 million crowns due to its one-year postponement caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The government will discuss the budget adjustment on Monday, which should also confirm Czech participation in the exhibition at its new date. The originally planned budget was 260 to 310 million crowns, depending on the participation of private sector partners, with 229 million crowns coming from state sources.

The Expo 2020 in Dubai was originally scheduled to start on October 20 this year, but due to the coronavirus, it has been postponed to a new date from October 1, 2021, to March 31, 2022. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs proposes to the government to extend the mandate of the General Commissioner of the Czech Pavilion, Jiří František Potužník, until the end of November 2022, to maintain the increased staffing for the same period, and to adjust the project budget. In 2021, due to the changed schedule, the budget of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is expected to decrease by 13 million crowns, while it will increase by 38.2 million crowns in 2022.

The ministry's submission report pointed out that the Czech Republic is one of the few countries that has almost completed its pavilion for the exhibition. In January, the rough construction was completed, and now the interiors are being finished. A total of 120 million crowns from the planned budget has already been invested, with another 90 million crowns contractually committed. The ministry also states that the increase in the budget for Czech participation in the exhibition is low compared to other countries, as most countries are considering increasing their spending by 15 percent.

Potužník told ČTK in May that it is unclear how the partners of the Czech pavilion will respond to the postponement of the Expo, as they may face economic difficulties due to the pandemic's consequences. However, at that time, only two smaller investors out of fifty declined to participate. Now, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicates in its material for the government that the maximum drop in income from private sources is estimated at ten million crowns.

The Czech Republic will present itself at the Expo in the Sustainability zone, showcasing itself as a country of nature, science, and innovation. The core of the national exhibition will be the S.A.W.E.R system, which produces water from air using solar energy. The system will have a capacity of 500 liters of water per day and will serve, among other things, for watering the greenery around the pavilion. The Czech pavilion was also intended to include a restaurant and showcase Czech glass and spa treatments, for example.