National stadium project costs down by another EUR 1mn

The contract value of the multi-purpose project, which includes the national stadium, has been reduced by a further EUR 1 million to EUR 157.2 million, says Vilnius Mayor Valdas Benkunskas.

The decrease was due to the fact that the construction period is set to be prolonged, the mayor said.

“Following a review by the authorities, comments from the committees and another round of talks with the concessionaire, we have tabled a number of amendments, which we will examine in more detail at tomorrow’s meeting. As the construction period is to be extended and the overall contract period (construction and operation) remains unchanged, the operation time is reduced,” Benkunskas said on Facebook Tuesday evening.

“We have revised the financial and legal aspects accordingly. The overall result is that the value of the contract is reduced by a further EUR 1 million from the previous version,” he added.

As earlier reported, real estate developer Hanner had said it was ready would take over the project from the BaltCap equity fund, which had pulled out after its former partner was reported to have misappropriated EUR 40 million from the fund.

The project has faced substantial changes – it is planned to raise the number of seats in the stadium by 3,000 to 18,000. A new arena for sports and culture events is planned to be added to the project, too.

The Vilnius mayor had said the construction of the entire multifunctional complex will cost around EUR 38 million more after Hanner takes over the national stadium project. The municipality would cover EUR 28 million of the increase.

Vilnius City Council is scheduled to vote on the said changes to the national stadium project on Wednesday.