South Moravian Region wants to map out the possibilities for the recovery of abandoned sites

    BRNO - The South Moravian Region wants to map out the possibilities of restoring unused areas in the region, known as brownfields. Together with the government agency CzechInvest, it has commissioned a search study. It aims to obtain funding from the EU for property regeneration starting in 2007 and needs to find out the number and financial requirements of future projects. Results can be expected in spring 2006, said Milan Venclík, the deputy governor, to journalists in Brno today.
    There is enormous interest in investments in Brno and South Moravia, according to him. "We have rather the opposite problem, that we have nothing to offer them (investors)," Venclík pointed out. One of the possibilities is the Jaselska Barracks, which is one of the last large development areas in Brno's Královo Pole. The barracks in Slatina, as well as the sites of companies such as Mosilana, Zetor, and Zbrojovka, will not be overlooked. The deputy mentioned completed locations such as Vaňkovka, the City Abattoir, and the Radlas building.
    Eva Krczmáová from CzechInvest stated that about one third of applications within the Real Estate program were for the regeneration and restoration of brownfields. From 2004 to 2006, Brussels allocated approximately 80 million euros (about 2.4 billion CZK) for these purposes. "This amount could now be an order of magnitude higher," Krczmáová believes. CzechInvest is also developing a national strategy, which will result in an overview of locations for possible restoration, an overview of ownership relations, and estimates of potential costs.
    "The main support from the European Union is expected to be for innovations, science, and research," Venclík declared. According to him, the region is already building one of the pavilions in the university campus for 100 million CZK and is preparing another 3000 square meters of a business incubator.
    Published statistics indicate that around 2.5 billion CZK of foreign investment came to South Moravia last year. Originally, 78 foreign companies showed interest in the region, of which 17 decided to stay. The automotive industry predominated, followed by electronics, as well as know-how related to involvement in international consortia. The most foreign companies came to the region from Germany, the USA, Britain, and Japan.