Zlín wants to obtain a grant from the EU for the completion of the congress center

Zlín - The construction of the Zlín Congress Center, which the city hall began building in 2006, could likely continue this year. The city's leadership wants to secure funding from European Union funds for its completion, which it is likely to apply for this year. The completion of the Congress Center is one of the points of the Integrated Development Plan for the city, approved at today's extraordinary meeting by the Zlín representatives.
    The Congress Center, together with the university center completed this year, will create a new complex right in the center of Zlín. The university part currently houses a library, an auditorium, and lecture halls, while in the Congress part, a restaurant and a multifunctional hall are planned to be created in the future, where the Bohuslav Martinů Philharmonic should also be based. So far, only the lower part of the building has been completed.
    "We approved a fundamental document that agrees with the path that we will seek funding from European sources, from a program designated for regional cities," explained the mayor of Zlín, Irena Ondrová. According to her, the city hall aims to obtain 85 percent of the total anticipated costs for the development of the city center from European funds. If we are successful, we can achieve up to 450 million, the mayor added. A decisive part of the funds will be specifically allocated for the completion of the Congress complex.
    A tender for the construction of the restaurant in the Congress Center has already been announced by the city hall, and according to Ondrová, work on it could start as soon as this fall. The city hall is expected to announce a tender for the construction of the multifunctional building in the coming days.
    So far, only the lower part of the Congress Center building has been completed, including the relocation of utility networks. The construction so far has cost approximately 160 million crowns, of which 45 million was state funding, with the remainder covered by the city budget. According to the mayor, the entire building should be completed by the end of 2010 at the latest.