Multi Development will also borrow from banks for the construction of Karolina

Ostrava - The Dutch company Multi Development, which won the competition for the development of the land of the former Karolina coking plant in the center of Ostrava, wants to finance its project from foreign sources as well. It intends to negotiate loans with banks, including international financial companies. This was stated by company representatives to reporters today. The winner of the tender plans to invest approximately 12 to 15 billion crowns into Karolina over ten years, making the location one of the most significant current development projects in the Czech Republic.
    The director of the company for the Czech Republic, Luboš Kočí, expects a return on invested investments in about ten years after the completion of the first phase. Particularly in the initial stages of the project, the company will finance it through its parent company, which is the third largest American investment bank, Morgan Stanley, which acquired a majority stake in the development company this year.
    The director of the company for Central Europe, Ronald Dasbach, believes that Ostrava and the more than one million Moravian-Silesian region have sufficient potential, and thus there will be no problem filling administrative buildings or residential properties. According to Dasbach, Prague and Brno were also somewhere else than they are now ten years ago. "There is no reason to believe that it should look significantly worse or different in Ostrava," Dasbach believes.
    According to Kočí, sometimes areas that look hopeless become the fastest growing. "Even today, these companies are coming here, and it is highly likely that a snowball effect can be expected. It won't happen right away, but the potential is here," says Kočí. He added that if the company did not believe in the region's growth, it would not have participated in the competition. "Locations in the center have the huge advantage that the center always attracts and will attract attention," says Kočí.
    The company has not yet quantified how many jobs could be created in Karolina. However, Kočí believes that their number will significantly exceed 5,000 direct jobs. The company claims that it would like to utilize the help of regional companies during construction. It builds its projects without a general contractor and instead uses dozens of specialized firms.
    Karolina has an undeveloped area of about 30 hectares, making it more than seven times larger than Wenceslas Square. Multi Development had already purchased the only historical building on the Karolina site - Dvojhalí - before the completion of the competition. It anticipates that the central square in front of this building will be the dominant feature of the development, and there will also be a high-rise building. The area will be developed with apartments, administrative buildings, and shops.
    The company Multi Development has invested in 18 countries around the world to date. In the Czech Republic, it has previously built shopping and entertainment centers such as Olympia in Plzeň and Olomouc, or the Chodov Center in Prague. The company is engaged in the construction of urban, commercial, and administrative centers throughout Europe.