Prague mayor charges Blanka contract was never valid

The opening of Prague’s Blanka Tunnel complex, may not take place next April as previously planned. Final stages of the project hit a roadblock on Wednesday when the firm overseeing construction said it needed money it was owed before continuing. City Hall responded with a revelation of its own: that the contract for the massive project was never valid.

Blanka Tunnel, photo: www.tunelblanka.cz

A month ago, Prague Mayor Tomáš Hudeček looked forward to the opening of Prague’s Blanka Tunnel, suggesting a Formula 1 car would zigzag its way into the city on May 1st 2014. Now, it appears the opening date may have to be postponed by at least two months. Metrostav, the company overseeing the project announced on Wednesday it would halt remaining construction in early December unless it received 2.1 billion crowns owed.

It didn’t get the response the firm must have envisaged: in the evening Mayor Tomáš Hudeček dropped a bombshell of his own, saying the contract for Blanka had never actually been valid, maintaining it was never debated either by the city assembly or city council. This, paradoxically, after the city had paid roughly two-thirds of the project’s roughly 36 billion crown price tag. Mayor Tomáš Hudeček:

“According to what we learned, the contract was never valid and that means there was no legal framework for the paying out of dozens of billions of crowns. If there was no basis for the deal, the city cannot finish completion nor take over ownership of the site.”

Tomáš Hudeček, photo: Šárka Ševčíková

If the project were left standing unfinished now, for example, it would cost the city an additional 1.6 billion over the course of 12 months. Metrostav, meanwhile, has charged the mayor’s claim makes little sense. Company spokesman Frantíšek Polak:

“I’ve read Svejk, I’ve read Kafka and I thought that there was little that could surprise me yet. I really don’t understand it.”

According to the spokesman, the contract was discussed by the city assembly in 2006. Others report or refer to materials from that year as well as from 2007 (where Metrostav was reportedly given the go-ahead). Still the city’s audit department is looking into the matter and it will probably take more than a few lawyers to untangle various legal threads. One thing does appear certain: the parties involved will have to find common ground on the massive project eventually – and probably sooner than later. Leaving Blanka standing empty or unfinished for long can hardly be financially or politically feasible.