The Prague Road Administration must not demolish the Libeň Bridge, confirmed the head of the Office for the Protection of Competition

Prague - The Prague Technical Administration of Communications (TSK) is not permitted to demolish the historic Libeň Bridge and build its replica. The chairman of the antimonopoly office, Petr Mlsna (ÚOHS), confirmed the original decision of his officials, who prohibited TSK from continuing work on the reconstruction of the bridge beyond the original competition, after which the project underwent significant modifications, including the decision to build a replica. Mlsna's decision was highlighted today by the Seznam Zprávy server, and the office's spokesperson Martin Švanda informed ČTK about it in a press release. TSK spokesperson Barbora Lišková responded that the company has issued an instruction to halt the work affected by the decision, and is assessing further steps.

In 2022, TSK selected the company Metrostav TBR to carry out work outlined in the then-current study for the reconstruction of the Libeň Bridge. However, two updates to the study subsequently emerged, which significantly changed the intention. According to the ÚOHS and its chairman, the city company effectively assigned a new contract without issuing a tender. Mlsna's decision is final.

The office dealt with the contract at the request of the company EUROVIA CZ and initially ruled twice in favor of TSK, but in both cases, the head of the office, Mlsna, overturned the decisions. For the third time, this July, officials prohibited the Prague company from carrying out parts of the project that were not included in the original tender assignment from 2022. Following the appeals from TSK and Metrostav TBR, Mlsna has now confirmed the decision.

Lišková stated that TSK received the decision today and is now analyzing it, while also issuing a decision to suspend the affected work. The spokesperson also pointed out that the ÚOHS did not cancel the contract as such, but only the work beyond the original contract. "The detailed impact on the progress of the work and TSK's next steps are being evaluated," said the spokesperson.

The structure referred to as the Libeň Bridge is actually a so-called bridge complex, consisting of several bridges, and addressing the historic one is just one part of the entire reconstruction. TSK representatives have previously repeatedly stated that all currently ongoing work is within the scope of the original contract and that for those that exceed its limits, the company plans to issue new tenders. This also applies to the demolition of the bridge over the river and the construction of its replica. Work on the bridge complex is already intensively underway; last year, workers demolished the so-called inundation bridge towards Palmovka, and this May, the construction of a new one began.

According to Lišková, TSK is already fulfilling the antimonopoly office's decision through the preparation of further competitions. "We firmly hope that we will be able to minimize the impact on the reconstruction itself and its duration," she said. She added that the dispute from the perspective of the city company concerns the interpretation of rules and the extent of possibilities for modifying the project after the contract was concluded, considering new, objectively determined facts and requirements.

Metrostav TBR is currently designing the construction of the replica of the historic bridge. TSK director Filip Hájek stated at the September meeting of the city council that the project for the new bridge should be completed by the end of the year; however, the final decision from ÚOHS prohibits any fulfillment that was not included in the original contract. This ban will take effect upon the legal force of Mlsna's decision, that is, the moment the decision is delivered to the parties involved in the proceedings.

The Libeň Bridge is a complex consisting of six bridges. It was created according to the design of architect Pavel Janák in 1928 and has never been renovated. The leadership of Prague under Mayor Adriana Krnáčová (ANO) planned, between 2014 and 2018, to demolish the historic bridge and replace it with a new structure; however, her successors in the last electoral term decided on a renovation. A decision to create a replica on the original pillars was then made at the end of 2023 based on static models, with stricter European legislation concerning the collapse of a bridge in Genoa, Italy, also playing a role according to TSK's statements at the time.