Babiš wants 16 plots in Letňany for the castle in Veleslavín

Prague - Prague could receive the castle in Veleslavín from the state in exchange for 16 plots of land in Letňany, where, according to Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (ANO), a so-called government district for civil servants should be created. The Prime Minister stated this on Twitter today. The plots are valued at 350 million crowns, while the castle was originally slated for auction starting at 382 million. Building a complex for civil servants is financially more advantageous than paying rents and investing in existing government buildings, the Prime Minister further wrote. Prague Mayor Zdeněk Hřib (Pirates) has repeatedly rejected the idea of a government district.

The plots the state is reportedly interested in, according to Babiš, cover a total area of 354,000 square meters. "A rough estimate of the costs for building the administrative complex in Letňany, which would house more than ten thousand employees (there are more than 37 thousand in Prague in total), is ten billion crowns," wrote the Prime Minister.

In the current situation, according to the Prime Minister, the state would need to spend five billion crowns on commercial office rents for civil servants, 13 billion crowns on the operation and maintenance of existing buildings, and seven billion crowns on investments in energy-inefficient and neglected buildings over the next ten years. If the government district were built, the state treasury would avoid these costs, and by selling the vacated buildings, the state would additionally gain 7.5 billion crowns, Babiš stated.

Mayor Hřib rejected the plan for the government district immediately after Babiš revived the idea related to the Veleslavín castle some time ago. According to him, Prague should rather have more local centers where people live and work simultaneously. A purely office district that is completely deserted in the evening goes against this notion. Hřib reiterated his opinion in today's Hospodářské noviny.

The representatives of the new coalition of Pirates, Prague for Itself, and United Forces for Prague do not reject the exchange of the Veleslavín castle for other properties. Councillor for property Jan Chabr (United Forces / TOP 09) has previously stated that the castle could be exchanged for fire stations owned by the city, which the Ministry of the Interior has expressed interest in. Prague is still negotiating the possibility of acquiring the castle.

The castle with a historic park, which spans three hectares, dates back to around 1725. It was built according to the plans of Kilián Ignác Dientzenhofer for Empress Amálie of Brunswick. The complex was last renovated in 1986. In 2015, the baroque castle was taken over from the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs by the Office for Representation of the State in Property Matters. It originally intended to auction the historical site at the end of November, but the Ministry of Culture withdrew its consent, which is necessary for the auction.