The project for Line D of the Prague metro will be prepared by Metroprojekt

Prague - The company Mott MacDonald withdrew its objections to being excluded from the tender for the project of line D of the Prague metro. The competition can thus be concluded, and the company Metroprojekt can begin preparing plans for the construction of the new metro line. This was stated to reporters today by Antonín Weinert (CSSD), the vice chairman of the board of the Prague Public Transit Company (DPP). Construction work could start around 2013.
    The company Mott MacDonald submitted the lowest bid for the project of the metro from the center of Prague to Písnice, but the transit company disqualified it from the competition due to doubts about its viability. However, the Office for the Protection of Economic Competition annulled the decision. Subsequently, DPP excluded the company from the tender again, allegedly due to "failure to meet the basic qualification requirements for participation in the competition."
    Mott MacDonald ultimately decided not to continue the dispute. "It is a painful decision. We cannot continue, the associated costs are significant. We see no end," said Jiří Petrák, the company's director, to ČTK. According to him, the decision came from Great Britain, where the company's headquarters is located.
    The transit company is looking for a firm in the tender to process the project documentation for the territorial and building permit and to carry out authorial supervision over the construction of part of line D. The contract was announced last May. According to DPP spokesman Ondřej Pečený, the tender can now be concluded. The winner will thus be the company Metroprojekt and its affiliated company SUDOP. For the work, they will receive nearly 500 million crowns.
    However, according to the DPP management, the first construction works are likely to begin only at the end of 2013, when all construction permits will be available. The new line is expected to intersect the city center from the Main Station to Depo Písnice and is intended to alleviate the overloaded line C. The construction will be divided into three phases, measure 11 kilometers, and will lead through náměstí Míru, Pankrác, Krč, and Libuš. Modern vehicles will be operated remotely.
    The construction is estimated to cost more than 40 billion crowns. According to the chairman of the DPP board, David Vodrážka (ODS), it is not yet clear whether everything will be paid for by Prague or if there will be a contribution from the state; a so-called PPP project is also being considered, where the money for the city would come from private sources.