The Hungarian Pavilion of the 2015 Milan World Expo will be rebuilt from HUF 3.8 billion in Karcag

The Hungarian Pavilion of the 2015 World Expo, known as the „Shaman drum”, will be rebuilt in Karcag for HUF 3.8 billion. Although last year the city did not have enough money to pay the HUF 2.6 billion bids. In Milan, the pavilion was originally built from HUF 2.3 billion.

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The Hungarian Pavilion of the 2015 World Expo in Karcag will be built from a net public investment of HUF 3.8 billion – according to the European public procurement journal. In Milan, the pavilion was built at a cost of HUF 2.3 billion.

Last year, the public tender for the same work was unsuccessful, because at that time two companies would take the job for HUF 2.6 billion, but the city could not to pay that price. The city repeatedly asked the government to increase the budget, but it was no avail. This year the same work will cost the taxpayers almost 50 percent, or 1.2 billion forints more.

The winning bid was submitted by a consortium of Zeron Zrt. and Peszter Kft.. Compared to the original building, the three-storey pavilion will be extended with a basement and a lobby. The building will be a “cultural, community and heritage centre”.

Hungarian Pavilion of the 2015 Milan World Expo still swallows taxpayers money

The chief designer of the eclectic Hungarian Pavilion known as the „Shaman drum” filed a report to the Hungarian prosecution…

The cost of repatriating the building was a net HUF 670 million. The government paid a net amount of HUF 298 million for the land reclamation and utilities.

A large part of Shaman drum was made of wood, which, according to the pavilion’s designer, Sándor Sárkány, was rotting, so only the metal supporting structure of the pavilion was brought from Milan to Karcag, and the government stored them in the open, piled on top of each other. According to an earlier complaint by the pavilion’s designer, this is misappropriation of public property.

Written and translated by Szilvia Zsilák. You can read the more detailed Hungarian language story here. Photo: The visualisation of the „Shaman drum”

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