Brno is futilely searching for an agreement on the purchase of land for the large city ring road

Brno - Brno has still not reached an agreement with the company Login Talk, which owns the last plots of land needed for the construction of the next section of the Brno large city ring road in the Žabovřeská area. According to the city leadership, this is delaying the construction. Mayor Petr Vokřál (ANO) told reporters that the value of the plots is around three million crowns, but the company refused to exchange the land for eight million. According to the mayor, it is demanding three commercial properties valued at over 30 million, which he considers excessive. Today, the company's representative Robert Bittó told ČTK that he wants to negotiate with the city but is asking for adequate compensation that takes into account his current profit from the land.

The plots belonging to Login Talk are the last ones needed to start construction. Talks about their exchange have been ongoing for a long time but have been unsuccessful. "We offered the owner plots of land worth many times more, but he did not accept it. He is now demanding an exchange of the land for commercial spaces on Masaryk Street, Starobrněnská Street, and Zelný trh, whose value exceeds 30 million. This is excessive, and we will not be blackmailed in this way," said Vokřál. The city will discuss offering only the property at Zelný trh in exchange for the land.

Bittó does not consider his demands excessive, given that it was previously possible to request up to sixteen times the appraiser's estimate when purchasing land for important transport constructions. "This price amounts to over 40 million and we do not even want that much. We want to reach an agreement with the city, but we want adequate compensation considering our current profit," said Bittó. He currently has an advertising banner on the land, rents out the track for public transport, and also collects money for the road. "A profit in the hundreds of thousands annually is long-term. The offered plot of land by the city for eight million in Černovice I could not rent out, and I would not have this profit. But no one is interested in that. I would have to build something there and then sell it, and for that, I would have to borrow. I do not want that; on the contrary, I want something that will earn me money right away like the current plots," said Bittó. That's why he unsuccessfully suggested exchanging it for a parking lot on Veveří Street.

According to Vokřál, the city wants to continue negotiations with the owner. If they do not reach an agreement, expropriation will occur. "Expropriation has been underway for several months and could be completed in the first half of next year, so that the Road and Motorway Directorate of the Czech Republic, as the investor, can start construction. Then we would have to pay a price determined through negotiations. The construction office in Tišnov has already had a valuation processed with an estimated value of about 2.5 million crowns," Vokřál said.

Bittó is considering expropriation. "I won't lose anything. If they push it in this direction, everything will be prolonged. The construction costs billions, and they are arguing about something that is holding it up, while they are not looking at our current profit from the land. We believe we are entitled to some multiple of the determined price," Bittó told ČTK.

The construction, costing two billion crowns, is expected to last about 40 months. Currently, there is a two-lane road at the construction site, which is a bottleneck where traffic jams occur every day, as both sides connect to a four-lane road.