Babiš: The state wants to financially motivate municipalities to build apartments

Prague - The state wants to financially motivate municipalities to build apartments, which are in short supply. They can utilize the Construction program, which allows for a hundred percent grant from the state for one-fifth of the apartments. This was stated by Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (ANO) at today's meeting with Central Bohemian mayors and the leadership of the Central Bohemian Region in Prague.

According to the prime minister, affordable housing is lacking and rent is high. If a municipality builds, for example, 100 apartments and 20 of them are designated for social purposes, the state will provide a hundred percent grant. "So actually those 20 apartments will be free," said Babiš. He also pointed out that, for example, in Prague it takes ten years to build an apartment, so the building law should also be changed.

Not all municipalities, according to representatives contacted by ČTK, will utilize the program. "Currently, we don't plan to get involved in this project," said Deputy Mayor Vladimír Těšínský (Kostelec - our home) of Kostelec nad Labem in Mělník. According to him, the city prudently kept the apartments and, with a few exceptions, did not privatize them. According to Těšínský, there is rather a demand for individual housing development in Kostelec.

According to the mayor of Dolní Břežany near Prague and opposition regional representative for STAN Věslav Michalik, state support could be higher. "If I understood correctly, it's actually a twenty percent grant. It seems too little to really be motivating," he said. Dolní Břežany could utilize state assistance for the project to build ten apartments. "If there were a twenty percent grant without any additional conditions, we would use it because it’s better to get something than nothing," added Michalik.

According to Babiš, problems with water management infrastructure persist in small municipalities in Central Bohemia, many households heat with coal, and in some areas, there is drought. A large number of roads are in emergency condition; this year the government sent 677 million CZK for their repairs to the regions. There is a need to complete the road network, the highway to Austria, or the Prague ring road. Due to the completion of the ring road, the prime minister wants to meet with the new leadership of the Prague City Hall. An important task is also the construction of a fast tram line to Kladno with a stop at the airport, he added.

Prague Mayor Zdeněk Hřib (Pirates) and his deputy for finance Pavel Vyhnánek (Prague Together) plan to meet with Prime Minister Babiš next week.

The fourth meeting of mayors and town leaders from the region is again taking place at the Clarion Congress Hotel Prague in Vysočany. 1140 representatives of Central Bohemian municipalities were invited, and 490 attended. The first such meeting took place last February at the Prague Congress Center, attended by over 600 mayors. In August of the same year, an event followed at the Slovanský dům, where 450 municipal representatives arrived. The third meeting, held this March also at the Clarion Congress Hotel Prague, was attended by 316 mayors. Governor Jaroslava Pokorná Jermanová (ANO) deemed it sufficient at the time. She pointed out that many mayors are unpaid and cannot take vacation for every meeting.