Due to the National Stadium, V. Benkunskas is forced to urgently convene an extraordinary meeting: there are two issues

According to opposition leader Artūrs Zuokas, the conclusions of the Public Procurement Service (VPT) showed that at least 2 million euros could be saved by building the stadium. euros, when the project provided by the municipality would reduce the price by only 25 thousand. euros.

As reported, two issues were registered on the agenda of Friday’s council meeting.

“The “Freedom and Justice” faction of the Vilnius Council has registered drafts of the Council’s decision proposing to start negotiations on the takeover of the company implementing the National Stadium by organizing separate international public procurements, thus dividing the construction of the object into parts and successfully implementing it in parts,” the party’s statement announced on Thursday.

As Gabrielius Grubinskas, the representative of the Vilnius municipality, told Elta, the municipality will hold a regular meeting on Wednesday of next week, where the revised project of the multi-functional complex will be discussed according to the conclusions of the VPN, and this meeting was not scheduled.

“A third of the council members applied with the demand to convene an extraordinary meeting, they submitted their agenda (..) Both issues were initiated by Artūros Zuoks,” he said.

According to the initiator of the meeting, “Laisvė ir sječumas”, the VPN’s conclusions state that the amendments to the Concession Agreement adopted this year are not possible, because “the economic balance of the parties to the agreement was violated, and the risk of indexation was exclusively transferred to the shoulders of the municipality”.

As Artūras Zuokas, the leader of the opposition in the capital, told Elta, the faction registered the projects submitted two weeks ago.

The municipality of the capital previously announced that the value of this project, approved in February, will decrease by 25 thousand according to the new corrections. euros. However, according to A. Zuok, according to VPN conclusions, more savings could be made – at least 2 million. euros.

“The current ruling majority in the municipality and the mayor Valdas Benkunskas often talk about how urgently the National Stadium project needs to be implemented, but the mayor postponed the council meeting only to the middle of May. The opposition, wanting Vilnius to have a modern 18 thousand seats at the National Stadium, only at a fair price and significantly faster than what is currently being offered by Valdos Benkunskas, and initiated this extraordinary council meeting,” the politician emphasized.

According to him, the group proposes to cancel the decision of the council in February to approve the construction project of the multi-functional complex and to announce a new tender for construction works. According to A. Zuok, this will ensure that the stadium is built at a “fair” price.

“In light of the VPN’s findings, we propose to revoke the decision that was made in February, as there are too many violations recorded and it no longer has any effect.” (…) Just now we have wasted almost eight months since October without actually doing anything. The mayor representing the city must state that the contract is unenforceable and in this case is invalid. When the contract is invalid, there is no other option but to separate through negotiations and announce new open tenders in which more companies could participate,” he emphasized.

Also, according to A. Zuokas, the faction proposes to announce tenders for the construction of different objects planned in the Multipurpose Complex separately.

“Logic itself dictates the decision that by announcing (tenders – ELTA) separately, it is possible to implement this project faster and have the best price. (…) It is necessary to start with the National Stadium, and it is also possible to really announce a tender for a kindergarten, the project of which is in place and the construction permits are in place. But in this way, the finances would be balanced correctly”, said the former mayor of the capital.

According to him, it is necessary to prioritize which projects are of greatest importance now, and to allocate the saved funds to the projects of first necessity – for example, the development of the shelter network.

“Funds would be rationally distributed, which are not too much for today,” added the leader of the opposition.

According to A. Zuok, regardless of the results of Friday’s extraordinary meeting, the faction will participate in the discussion of the new stadium project planned for Wednesday, but will not vote for it.

“We will participate, but I really don’t think the opposition will agree with the result of the negotiations that Mayor Valdas Benkunskas provides,” said A. Zuokas.

ELTA reminds that at the end of February, the Vilnius City Municipal Council approved the changes foreseen in the multi-functional project of the capital.

The real estate development company Hanner intends to take over the project of the national stadium in Vilnius from the capital fund manager BaltCap. Its owner Arvydas Avulis indicates that the construction of the stadium could be completed by the end of 2026. According to the mayor of the capital Valdas Benkunskas, the actual cost of construction alone from 2020 beginning until 2022 increased by 40 percent.

The entire multifunctional complex includes the National Stadium with a sports museum inside, a sports center with basketball, handball, gymnastics, boxing halls, three football training fields, an international category athletics stadium with a football field, an athletics warm-up area with throwing sectors, a cultural center with a library and Kindergarten with 300 places.

According to V. Benkunskas, after indexing, the National Stadium with the entire multifunctional complex should cost approximately 1.2 million. euros more than previously planned, ie 157.2 million. euros. It is estimated that construction works became more expensive by 27.1 million. euros, new works would also contribute (3 thousand additional seats in the stadium and a universal arena), ie 13 million. euros. However, it is stated that 38.1 million euros could be saved by borrowing for only 2 years, instead of 22 years, as previously planned.