After many years of tenders without any results, the local authority has finally received a bid for repurposing the Székelyudvarhely/Odorheiu Secuiesc observatory.
Built between 1989 and 1991, the observatory has never actually served its main purpose, and the local authority has been trying to modernize the building and its surroundings to no avail for years. The series of unsuccessful public tenders now seems to have reached an end, as the local authority has received a bid for both the redesign and repurposing, Hungarian news portal Székelyhon reports.
Székelyudvarhely had already won RON 4 million (EUR 822,000) from the Regional Operative Program for the project back in 2018, but despite numerous public procurement openings, no contractor applied for the work.
As it turned out, the original estimates for the work were unrealistic; instead of the RON 5.5 million (EUR 1.13 million), the funding needed is about RON 8.4 million (EUR 1.73 million),
meaning that the town itself will have to take on far more of the overall cost: 52 percent instead of 12 percent.
After adjusting the value of the project to current prices, the local authority opened the project for bids on June 23 this year. Finally, a local firm has submitted a bid for the whole project, which includes the modernization of the building itself and landscaping work on the surrounding area.
The repurposed observatory will become a natural science education center, working in tandem with multiple institutions such as the town museum, public library and schools, while the surrounding area is to become a park with a small botanical garden.
Title image: The observatory of Székelyudvarhely is awaiting its reconstruction. (Photo: Árpád Pál/szekelyhon.ro)
