Amazon no longer counts on the center in Brno, the construction in Dobrovízi is still valid

Graben (Germany)/Prague - Amazon is no longer counting on building its distribution center in Brno and is considering other alternatives in Central Europe. This was said today by Tim Collins, Amazon's director for Europe, to journalists in Graben, Germany. Negotiations about the investment, which was expected to bring more than 1500 jobs, lasted several months and repeatedly failed due to disagreements among Brno's representatives. At this moment, Amazon is preparing to build only a large distribution warehouse near Dobrovíz in Central Bohemia, where local authorities supported the investment. Collins stated today that Amazon aims to open the distribution warehouse here by the end of summer 2015.
Czech government representatives, including Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka (Czech Social Democracy), expressed disappointment over the developments surrounding the Brno project, and Finance Minister Andrej Babiš (ANO) spoke of the absurd decisions made by Brno’s representatives. President Miloš Zeman also stated that this is mainly a mistake of Brno's representatives; he previously described the failure to approve contracts as "stupid". Representatives of Brno initially did not react to Amazon's announcement today but later said they were surprised. They claimed they had no signals that the Americans would withdraw. Mayor Roman Onderka (Czech Social Democracy) expects to receive a letter from the company soon outlining its next steps.
Minister of Industry and Trade Jan Mládek (Czech Social Democracy) said that while Brno missed its opportunity, he believes that Amazon will still establish its next center in the Czech Republic.
Amazon wanted to build a logistics warehouse in the Černovická terasa industrial zone in Brno. Brno's representatives opposed it three times. It was supposed to be discussed again in two weeks. In the last vote, 25 of the 55 representatives supported Amazon's arrival. Three green representatives were against it, while others abstained, did not vote, or did not attend the meeting. Opponents argued, for example, that the current zoning plan does not allow the construction of logistics centers on the specified sites. Locals also feared an unbearable increase in traffic around their homes.
After Brno's representatives rejected the construction, the South Moravian Region offered Amazon land near the Brno airport. However, the regional director of the development company CTP Invest, which was preparing the center's construction for about 2.7 billion crowns, said this land is unsuitable. According to him, construction could only take place on 75,000 m², but the company planned a hall of 95,000 m².
Amazon's head for Europe, Collins, admitted in an interview with ČTK today that the main reason Amazon will not proceed to Brno was precisely the delays in approving the construction. "In Brno, it was clear that more than one vote from the city council would be needed and that we would not make it within the planned time. We are a business company and need to move forward," he stated. Regarding finding a replacement for Brno in Central Europe, he declared that Amazon has "many great options, including the Czech Republic" in its sights.
From the reactions of Czech government officials, it is evident that they are quite perplexed by the actions of Brno's council and some are concerned that Amazon's failure in Brno could deter potential other investors considering doing business in the Czech Republic.
Prime Minister Sobotka stated that the cabinet did everything possible to secure the investment. Finance Minister Babiš called the decisions of Brno's representatives absurd in a situation where the government is trying to attract foreign investors who would employ people in the Czech Republic and pay taxes. According to Babiš, the Republic has "fifteen governments" - one central and fourteen regional - among which there is no unity. The state agency CzechInvest noted that the Amazon case demonstrated that a large number of jobs is not a priority for the representatives of some municipalities. Meanwhile, the Czech Republic is currently experiencing the highest unemployment rate in its history, with 625,390 people unemployed in February.
Analysts, like some government members, are also concerned that the collapse of negotiations with Amazon could harm the Czech Republic. David Marek from Patria Finance believes that the reputation of the Czech Republic will mainly suffer. However, Filip Kozák, head of the industrial real estate department at the real estate consulting company CBRE, pointed out that the American company may have underestimated the preparation of its investment by not allocating more time for negotiations.