Snap tender for Palac Žofín lease angers Prague opposition

Agentura NKL's lease of Palác Žofin from Prague's first district doesn't run out until 2025, but the company has requested that a tender be held, now, to determine who will run the building from 2025 to 2034. Opposition representatives in the city assembly are calling the move highly suspicious, as it comes just weeks before local elections are to take place. They also complain that the tender conditions fail to give any guidance on the expected price.

"It's pratically impossible for anyone else to take part," Petr Kučera told the server Aktualne.cz. "In the current situation it's impossible to make a calculation if they don't know the price. The competition is greatly disadvantaged." Members of the opposition Pirates party claim Prague 1's decision to give bidders just 15 days to react doesn't reflect the importance or value of the property. But Prague 1's mayor Oldřich Lomecký rejects the criticism, saying the 15 day period is what the law demands and that the district's approach is the same for all of its properties. He did tell Aktualne.cz, however, that while there's no guarantee that Agentura NKL will submit a bit, he's satisfied with the way the palace is being used.