Hřib wants information on how the abandoned government buildings will be used

Prague - According to Prague Mayor Zdeněk Hřib (Pirates), it is not clear from the list of buildings designated for evacuation due to the construction of an official quarter in Letňany how the buildings intended for the public will be specifically utilized in the future. The complete list of Prague buildings from which employees are to be relocated to Letňany was published on Wednesday by the property office. According to Hřib, who repeatedly requested the list, there is also a complete lack of a financial assessment of the costs required to adapt the buildings for their new purpose.

"This is certainly not a detail. The Ministry of Finance is currently planning drastic budget cuts, so I logically fear for the funding of necessary adjustments. It would be truly scandalous if historic buildings in the city center stood empty, deteriorated, and after being abandoned by officials failed to find meaningful public use," said Hřib.

In a response sent to ČTK, he also stated that it is clear that the originally presented calculations of profitability were merely "a marketing chimera." According to him, Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (ANO) claimed that the rents of the abandoned properties would save half a billion crowns annually, but according to the list, it is actually less than 300 million crowns, Hřib pointed out.

Babiš has been discussing the construction of a large complex for officials in Letňany on land owned by the city for some time. According to him, the current situation is uneconomical for the state. Hřib opposed the construction of the official complex, but after a January meeting with Babiš, he stated that they would continue to negotiate.

In exchange for the land, Prague demands that the state invest in the construction of a new hospital in this area to replace the outdated pavilion concept of the Na Bulovce hospital. Hřib also wants apartments and public amenities in Letňany, further requires state financing for the completion of the city ring road, similar to what is done in Brno, and also wishes to acquire a property belonging to the state where the capital's magistrate could relocate from the costly rental in Škodův Palace. He also wants to transfer the properties in the Bulovka complex to the city.

"We are ready to negotiate with the prime minister on these matters, which are crucial for the meaningful development of Prague," concluded Hřib.