The budget of the Czech pavilion at the Expo will increase by 25.2 million crowns

Prague - The budget for the Czech pavilion at the World Expo 2020 will increase by 25.2 million crowns due to its one-year postponement as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. The government approved the budget adjustment today. The cabinet also confirmed Czech participation in the exhibition on its new date. The originally planned budget was 260 to 310 million crowns depending on the participation of partners from the private sector, with 229 million crowns coming from state sources.

The Expo 2020 in Dubai was originally set to begin on October 20 of this year, but due to the coronavirus, it has been rescheduled to take place from October 1, 2021, to March 31, 2022. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs proposed to the government to extend the mandate of the general commissioner of the Czech pavilion, Jiří František Potužník, until the end of November 2022, also maintaining the increased staffing for the same period and adjusting the project budget. In 2021, the budget of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is expected to decrease by 13 million crowns due to the changed schedule, while in 2022 it is projected to increase by 38.2 million crowns.

In the submission report, the Ministry pointed out that the Czech Republic is one of the few countries that has almost completed its pavilion for the exhibition. The rough construction was taken over in January, and the interiors are currently being completed. So far, 120 million crowns have been invested from the planned budget, and another 90 million crowns are contractually tied. 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 expenses by 15 percent.

In May, Potužník told ČTK that it is unclear how the partners of the Czech pavilion will respond to the postponement of the Expo, as they may face economic problems due to the consequences of the pandemic. At that time, only two smaller investors had refused participation out of fifty. Now, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs states in the material for the government that the maximum decline in income from private sources is estimated at ten million crowns.

The Czech Republic will present itself at the Expo in the Sustainability zone and will showcase 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 be used, among other things, for irrigating the greenery around the pavilion. The Czech pavilion was also to include a restaurant and showcase, for example, Czech glass or spa culture.