Experts will demolish the hundred-meter chimney in the former OP Prostějov complex

photo: Martin Vonka

Prostějov - Experts are preparing to demolish a chimney over 100 meters high at the site of the former Clothing Enterprise Prostějov (OP). The blasting work for the demolition of the chimney has already been approved by the district mining office, said Bohuslav Machek, spokesman for the State Mining Administration, today to the Czech News Agency (ČTK). In the summer of 2014, six large production halls of the bankrupt OP fell, and the chimney is the last standing landmark of the site, which has since transformed into an industrial zone and is currently unused.

The demolition of the 108-meter-high chimney was requested by Mital, the company responsible for the blasting work during the removal of the extensive production halls of OP. "The district mining office in Ostrava issued a decision permitting large-scale blasting work for the removal of the chimney in the former OP area. The decision became legally binding about 14 days ago, and now it is up to the organization to which the blasting work has been permitted to determine when the demolition will take place," Machek stated.

The leader of the demolition must, according to Machek, notify the mining office, the town hall, and other authorities of the scheduled demolition date 48 hours prior to the planned blast. "So far, we have not received any information from him," noted Machek, who expects that the tall chimney will come down on one of the following weekends.

The managing director of Mital is explosives expert Zdeněk Šobíšek, who managed the demolition of the OP production halls and received a fine of several tens of thousands of crowns. Debris from the blast slightly injured two people. Shortly after the demolition of the buildings in 2014, Šobíšek told ČTK that safety regulations had not been violated. However, a video appeared on the internet showing a piece of masonry narrowly missing a group of spectators. Šobíšek questioned the video and then ceased communication with the media.

According to Machek's earlier statements, Šobíšek used a larger amount of explosives during the demolition of the six OP buildings than was allowed by the mining office in the documentation. Because of this, debris flew beyond the safety perimeter. A total of 2404 non-electric and 856 electric charges were used for the demolition of the six OP buildings, totaling 1193 kilograms of dynamite. The buildings fell within moments. Hundreds of people watched the demolition from a distance.

The new owner of the Prostějov OP site, Astria Group, decided to demolish the production halls. The eighteen-hectare site currently lies empty. Machines have already removed huge piles of construction debris. The landowners claim that negotiations with investors are on a good track, and the first companies could soon settle in the area. They have not yet disclosed details. Jiří Pospíšil (PéVéčko), the deputy mayor of Prostějov, announced this spring that four foreign investors are interested in the land.

Astria Group paid 58 million CZK for the Prostějov OP site, which it purchased as the winner of the tender in January last year. The land is in close proximity to the R46 expressway, which runs from Olomouc to Brno, making it advantageous for investors. The site is extensive and had several production and administrative buildings, warehouses, a boiler room, and a railway siding.