The Prague councilors have not agreed on the procedure for the joint venture New Holešovice

Prague - Prague councilors today did not reach an agreement on the next steps regarding the joint venture New Holešovice, which was established by the public transport company (DPP) with the firms Karlín Group and CPI Property Group for the development of the Nádraží Holešovice metro station and its surroundings. Part of the coalition Spolu (ODS, TOP 09, and KDU-ČSL), STAN, and the Pirates led by Deputy Mayor Zdeněk Hřib (Pirates) advocate for exiting the venture, while the remaining parties disagree, and representatives of STAN did not vote at all today. According to ČTK information, a minority of four Pirates and Deputy Mayor Jiří Pospíšil (TOP 09) voted for the exit in the eleven-member council. DPP is the largest city company, and the councilors are its general meeting.

The joint venture was established by DPP after lengthy negotiations in 2021 with the company Karlín Group, later joined by CPI Property Group, which also owns land in the area. The supervisory board of DPP approved the sale of municipal land to the joint venture for at least 173 million crowns this January. The Pirates have now submitted a document opposing this decision regarding the exit.

Coalition representatives are disputing the next steps. The first option is to approve the transfer of DPP land to the joint venture, and the second is to agree to DPP's exit, a so-called exit from the company. Politicians also debated the process at a press conference after the city council meeting.

"The Pirates have sent a clear signal with their vote that under no circumstances do they want to allow the continuation of the (Dozimetr) case in DPP. However, I am greatly surprised that despite publicly known information about bribes, there were not enough votes from coalition partners in the council to approve this step," said Hřib. He wants to request a meeting with Mayor Bohuslav Svoboda (ODS). Hřib also stated that in his opinion, the best solution would be to leave the venture and announce an open tender for a new partner for the joint venture.

Spolu rejects the idea that leaving the venture is a fight against corruption. The responsibility for resolving the situation should then lie with the management of DPP. The reason is that the venture was approved without a tender under the previous city administration, and the current one cannot be held responsible for these steps. "We are faced with two options, neither of which is correct. The first is to complete the project, but be confronted by a situation where the investor did not arise from a tender, or to abandon the project, which would expose the city to a legal dispute with the developer and Nádraží Holešovice would continue to deteriorate," said the chairman of Spolu representatives Tomáš Portlík.

The opposition criticizes Prague's leadership for its approach. "The council should have approved the reconstruction of the Nádraží Holešovice station. Instead, the ODS and Pirates coalition again decided nothing. A lot is said at the council, but projects are not advancing. Deputy Mayor Hřib continues to gamble with the city's reputation as a serious partner for joint investments," said former Deputy Mayor Adam Scheinherr (Prague itself).

The chairman of Prague's ANO and opposition representative Ondřej Prokop criticized Hřib for not properly preparing the documents for either option. "Through this unfortunate chaotic situation, Zdeněk Hřib is causing divisions among his coalition colleagues, as well as a legal and media battle," he said. He also pointed out that there is a risk of damage to Prague due to the exit.

Hřib previously cited suspicion of connections of some participants with the Dozimetr case, which involved influencing contracts in DPP, as a reason for the exit. Meanwhile, the private partners stated that they would sue the city in case of an exit due to breach of the shareholders' agreement. In a pre-litigation letter, they calculated the damage at 1.3 billion crowns. According to Hřib's statement, the contract clearly indicates that the contractual parties waive any right to compensation for damages.