The construction of the Czech pavilion at Expo 2020 is being completed by another company

Prague - Due to repeated violations of contractual obligations and delays in deliveries, the contractor for the Czech pavilion at the World Expo 2020 in Dubai was replaced in the fall. The exhibition was postponed to take place from October 1, 2021, to March 31, 2022, due to the coronavirus pandemic. Dubai company Pico replaced MCI. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which will present ongoing information to the government on Monday, preparations for the Czech Republic's participation in Expo 2020 continue according to the approved plan despite the pandemic and the change of contractor.

The Office of the Chief Commissioner (KGK), headed by Jiří František Potužník, terminated the contract with the contractor for the Czech pavilion, MCI, due to repeated violations of contractual obligations and delays in deliveries. If these issues were to deepen further, it could threaten the binding deadlines for completing the construction, according to the ministry. The KGK terminated the contract at the end of September.

KGK selected a new contractor in a competition over two months, and work on the pavilion was resumed by Dubai company Pico at the beginning of November. It is not anticipated that the change of contractor will lead to exceeding the approved budget for the construction. Since October, Potužník has been overseeing the final phase of the pavilion's construction on-site.

The preparations for the pavilion are at the stage before the completion of the facade, with interior finalization planned for January this year. Between March and August, the completed pavilion will be preserved.

The Czech exhibition at the event will be divided into a permanent section, which will be incorporated into the garden and pavilion throughout the duration of Expo 2020, and a rotating section, which will change every two weeks. "The exhibitions are thematically focused primarily on science, research, innovative technologies, and modern design," stated the ministry.

The permanent installation will consist of ten exhibits, with investors contributing an average of two million crowns each, noted the office. The content of the rotating exhibition will be provided by partners from the public administration and the private sector. In the public administration sphere, KGK, for example, collaborates with the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Industry, and the presentation of the Czech Republic at the exhibition will also involve the South Moravian Region, Brno, Prague, and numerous scientific and university institutions.

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 irrigation of the greenery around the pavilion. The Czech pavilion is also expected to showcase examples of Czech glass or spa culture, including exhibits such as an interactive wall made from 3D printers and a robotic arm.

The originally planned budget for the Czech pavilion at the exhibition was 260 to 310 million crowns, depending on the participation of private sector partners. However, the government decided in July to increase the budget by 25.2 million due to a one-year delay caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

The contribution from the state budget for the period of 2017 to 2022 amounts to 185.2 million, with an additional 69 million allocated in the KGK Asset Reproduction Fund, funded by savings from the Expo 2010 and 2015 exhibitions. The remaining 31 to 81 million is provided by KGK from third-party sources. According to the ministry, the current contractual obligations to third parties amount to approximately 80 million, of which about a quarter are financial obligations.