LN: Gov't closes military biological protection centre in Těchonín

Prague, Feb 7 (CTK) - The Czech government has decided to close the Biological Protection Centre in Techonin, east Bohemia, that was built for 1.75 billion crowns in reaction to the September 2001 terrorist attacks and its tasks are to be taken over by other institutions, Lidove noviny (LN) writes Thursday.

The paper writes that the government made the decision at its January meeting.

LN writes that there are two possible solutions to the situation. The more probable one is the complete halting of the centre's operation and selling it as a redundant military property, which would save the Defence Ministry up to 120 million crowns annually.

The other possibility is the transformation of the centre into a subsidised organisation that would cost the state treasury some 50 million crowns annually while the centre would have to earn the rest with its own activities, such as laboratory research, LNw rites.

The Defence Ministry that hopes a new use will be found for the centre has already negotiated with the health and interior ministries, but to no avail as yet.

"The Defence Ministry wants to place the issue on the agenda of one of the forthcoming meetings of the defence planning committee that is a working body of the National Security Council," LN quotes ministry spokesman Vladimir Lukovsky as saying.

The Biological Protection Centre was built 11 years ago. The Defence Ministry made use of a secret and difficult to access building in Techonin that soldiers have owned since the 1970s.

LN writes that the only patients of the centre are about 1000 soldiers annually who spend a several-day quarantine after their return from a foreign mission.