The radio station has paid only symbolic rent for its space in the former communist federal assembly building from the Finance Ministry after moving here from Munich, Germany, in 1995.

RFE/RL paid just 1 Kc (5 U.S. cents) per day for prime real estate because of its appreciated role in getting news into the Eastern bloc during the Cold War. For the past 10 years, the station has been broadcasting from the site.

Its new home will be raised on a site that was originally designated for a hockey arena for the 2004 World Ice Hockey Championship. The arena ended up being built in Prague–Vysocany, a distance from the city center in keeping with the wishes of the government.

After the 9/11 terrorist attacks against the United States, the Czech government voiced concerns that the station's headquarters could pose a significant risk to the city's prime real estate and population.

Since then RFE/RL has been working with dozens of developers to find a new location and considered as many as 30 sites before agreeing to go with Orco Property Group to a site in the Prague–Hagibor area, RFE/RL spokeswoman Anna Rausová said.

"We signed a contract with Orco Property Group to build our new site. We expect to move into the new building by the end of 2007," Rausová told The Prague Post.

Orco emerged victorious from a shortlist of four developers, she added. Luxembourg-based Orco operates in the Czech Republic through its arm IPB Real, a major apartment developer here.

The company significantly boosted its Czech image in February after its dual listing on the Prague Stock Exchange. Orco's shares are now traded in Prague and also on the Euronext bourse in Paris.

In selecting Orco, RFE/RL ignored reports about its alleged defaults on payments to some contractors as reported in the Czech Business Weekly in March, Rausová said.

"The bidding process was supervised by the U.S. government; it was fair and every bidder received equal treatment," Rausová said, pointing out, "Key criteria were finance and security."

RFE/RL will rent offices in the new building from the property developer. Rausová refused to comment on the financial terms of the contract with Orco.

When RFE/RL vacates the Wenceslas Square site, the government may choose to give it to neighboring National Museum or convert it for the use of the University of European Integration, which is set to open here in 2006.