Rohanský Island in Prague is awaiting big changes

Prague - Big changes await Rohanský Island in Prague. A new urban center is to be created in its part with residential buildings, services, hotels, and offices as well as greenery. Areas that are not protected by flood barriers will serve for the residents' recreation. The city hall will now look for a private investor for the utilization of some of the local plots, said Deputy Mayor Pavel Klega (ODS) to ČTK after today’s city council meeting.
    "In the public competition, it will concern more than 200,000 square meters of land. The goal is to find the most advantageous offer from an investor that aligns with the city’s interests and needs, to whom we will first lease the plots and then sell them," Klega stated. Applicants will have to respect the already prepared urban study.
    For new greenery, sports, and recreation, the city wants to utilize about 60 hectares of the local land. "We will restore a branch of the Vltava River approximately at the site of the original one, which was filled in the 19th century. This will enable the creation of Rohanský and Maninský Islands," Klega noted.
    According to plans, the southern part will feature green areas with promenades and an observation tower with a lighthouse. The northern part of the area with passenger ship ports should serve for sports and recreation. There should also be a natural amphitheater with a stage on the water. Some elements are intended to be built by the city hall from money obtained from the sale of land. The costs for developing the local infrastructure should also be returned to the city.
    Currently, the plots are mostly undeveloped and devastated. Some have temporary buildings. The city has allocated 208 million crowns in its budget for this year for demolishing old buildings, land adjustments, and other matters. The overall development plans for the island should begin to be implemented after 2008 when engineering networks are to be completed and Pobřežní Street is to be extended to the Libeň Bridge.
    The selection process for the investor will be in two rounds. Interested parties will need to submit a concept plan for the utilization of the island, calculate costs, and outline the construction timeframes for their projects. In the first round, applicants will need to deposit a three-million-crown security, in the second, it will be 100 million crowns.
    Rohanský Island, like the entire Karlín which it is part of, was damaged by a catastrophic flood in August 2002. Now this district is protected against potential recurrence of a natural disaster by barriers, the construction of which cost 626 million crowns. Most of the plots that the city will offer in the competition are in the protected part of the island.