Moravian-Silesian Region offers Amazon to build a warehouse in Mošnov

Ostrava - The Moravian-Silesian Region will offer the American online retailer Amazon to build its distribution center in the industrial zone in Mošnov in the Nový Jičín area. Miroslav Novák (ČSSD), the governor, said this to reporters today after a regular meeting of the working group for addressing the economic and social situation in the Moravian-Silesian Region. The center was supposed to be built in Dobrovíz near Prague, but the residents of the municipality rejected it in a referendum.
    Novák said that the region is responding to the results of the referendum in Dobrovíz with an official offer to Amazon. "As an alternative, we say: Why not utilize the potential of the Mošnov airport and the facilities that are there? In this regard, CzechInvest will be negotiating with representatives of this company," the governor said.
    The residents of Dobrovíz primarily rejected the construction due to concerns about increased traffic burdens and that the center, covering an area of 95,000 square meters, would open before the planned bypass of the municipality.
    Amazon aims to open two distribution centers in the Czech Republic by September 2014 at the latest. The second center is to be built near Brno. The company plans to invest hundreds of millions of euros in the construction of each center. Each center will employ around 2,000 people, and an additional 3,000 workers will find jobs at each location during the pre-Christmas peak. Together with the planned warehouse in Poland, they are intended to serve both existing European markets and new markets in Northern and Eastern Europe.
    The Mošnov industrial zone covers 200 hectares. Besides being adjacent to the airport, it can offer connections to highways and the railway network, with a new rail connection currently being constructed. Companies such as Behr Ostrava, Plakor Czech, and Comodora Wheels operate in the zone.
    Amazon is the largest and also one of the oldest online retailers in the world. It began its online operations in July 1995 and currently employs 97,000 people.