The future of a planned national sports museum is uncertain following a media report of its suspension by the Ministry of Finance, a claim directly contradicted by Luxembourg’s Minister of Sport.
According to a report by the online news site Reporter.lu, Minister of Finance Gilles Roth has suspended the project pending legal checks. When contacted by RTL, the Ministry of Finance declined to comment on the claim.
However, Minister of Sport Georges Mischo – who, like Roth, is a member of the Christian Social People’s Party (CSV) – has explicitly denied the report. He told RTL it is incorrect to state the project is frozen. Mischo explained that the file was removed from the agenda of the Finance Ministry’s Acquisition Committee solely because it is soon to be submitted to the Parliamentary Committee on Budgetary Execution. That committee will decide whether to refer the matter to the Court of Auditors. “This does not mean the project is suspended,” Mischo clarified, adding that he had spoken with Minister Roth on Wednesday and has “nothing to hide.”
The “Rout Lëns” site project has been controversial. Criticism has centred on a memorandum of understanding signed by Mischo with the private developer “IKO Real Estate,” which included a clause for the state to buy back the completed building. The opposition Luxembourg Socialist Workers’ Party (LSAP) has accused the minister of bypassing standard tendering procedures. The Reporter.lu article also suggested that a lack of detailed communication from the Minister of Sport to the broader government has strained the coalition atmosphere.
Earlier this week, Mischo stated in an RTL interview that no further procedural errors had been made in the case. The latest conflicting reports leave the future of the proposed sports museum unclear.
