In Brno, the construction of six more pavilions for the university campus has begun

BRNO - The university campus in Brno's Bohunice, which Masaryk University began to build more than a year ago, will expand by an additional six pavilions by mid-2007. The rector of Masaryk University, Petr Fiala, recently signed contracts with general contractors for the next two phases, and construction work has already begun, said university spokesperson Václav Štětka today to ČTK.
The new pavilions will serve approximately 160 staff members and more than 1,400 students from the Faculty of Medicine and the Faculty of Science. Both faculties are already jointly using the pavilions of the so-called Integrated Laboratories of Biomedical Technologies (ILBIT), which have been serving scientific needs since October of this year. In this stage of construction, in addition to the teaching pavilions, an information center will be established, which should also serve students of the Faculty of Sports Studies. The costs for this stage are estimated at over 1.5 billion crowns.
Alongside the construction of the six additional pavilions, work has also begun in Bohunice on building infrastructure throughout the entire campus. In addition to the water supply and sewage network, changes will also affect the roads around the campus. Kamenice Street, for example, will be transformed into a four-lane road leading from the Brno University Hospital through the campus to the highway connector. A new cycling path will be created alongside it, and the internal roads within the campus will be adapted for cycling. The infrastructure costs, which are expected to be completed by the end of 2007, are projected at around 340 million crowns.
While the construction of the pavilions is funded by the university with money from the state budget, a loan from the European Investment Bank, and its own resources, the city of Brno contributes 300 million crowns to the development of infrastructure.
The entire university campus for 5,000 students and 500 university staff members is expected to be completed by mid-2008. The total costs for its construction are currently estimated at 5.1 billion crowns, compared to the original estimate of 3.9 billion crowns. According to the university's management, the increase in costs is primarily due to the rise in value-added tax, increased construction prices, and inflation.