The cabinet supported the sale of state land so that the 3rd Faculty of Medicine of Charles University could construct a pavilion

Prague - The government today supported the sale of a three-meter strip of land entrusted to the State Health Institute (SZÚ) to Charles University (UK). This is derived from the results of the meeting. The transfer from the state will enable the 3rd Faculty of Medicine of UK to build a new pavilion in the premises located in Prague's Vinohrady. The cabinet's approval was necessary because it involves the transfer of land between two state organizations.

The faculty announced in September 2022 that it intends to demolish one of its older buildings and replace it with a modern educational center. The construction was estimated to cost around half a billion, and the architectural competition for its design was won in January 2023 by a team from the Ehl & Koumar architects studio. The jury selected it from 34 proposals, and UK Rector Milena Králíčková signed a contract for the preparation of the project.

Initially, the building department of Prague 10 did not mind that the building would be located at the edge of the land. "However, during the preparation of the study, the building department changed its opinion and recommended that there should be at least a three-meter wide unbuilt strip behind the northern wall of the planned new building, separating the construction from the land of the neighboring organization," the document states.

Thus, the university must purchase a part of the land from the neighboring SZÚ. First, the nearly 140 square meters of land had to be delineated from the SZÚ property, after which an expert opinion on its value was prepared. This was set at 2.75 million crowns. The state can only sell permanently unnecessary property, which is why an exemption had to be obtained for the sale.

The 3rd Faculty of Medicine at UK focuses on educating doctors as well as other non-medical professions, such as dental hygienists, nutritional therapists, general nurses, or physiotherapists.

"The existing building A, which should mainly house research and scientific workplaces, will be supplemented by the newly constructed building B, which will have sufficient capacity for the education of all students of the medical faculty. The design includes a large lecture hall, spacious classrooms, a library, and a simulation center," described Dean Petr Widimský in January.

The premises in Vinohrady host the Faculty Hospital Královské Vinohrady, SZÚ, the State Institute for Drug Control, the Institute for Postgraduate Medical Education, and a secondary medical school. "The 3rd Faculty of Medicine collaborates with all these institutions in various areas of education, research, and medical practice," the faculty stated in a press release about the new center.