ECONOMY Minister Pavol Rusko said that the unfinished building of the Slovak National Theatre (SND) should be transformed into a joint-stock company and 66 percent of the firm should be sold to private investors. Rusko described his plan in a proposal recently prepared by the Economy Ministry, the daily SME wrote on March 20.
The construction of the new SND building started under communism in the 1980s but, due to a lack of funds, the project has never been completed. Originally, the Finance Ministry proposed selling the whole site but local artists and the Culture Ministry argued that the building must be saved for Slovak cultural life.
The Economy Ministry estimated that about Sk800 million (€19.7 million) was still needed to finish the SND. Under the plan, the site of the theatre would also include a new hotel, underground parking facilities, and a sports and relaxation centre.
Rusko suggested that he knew of several firms that would be interested in entering the joint venture with the state, but he refused to name them.
According to SME, the Irish firm Ballymore Properties and the local finance group J&T might be among the possible investors.
