Babiš: The government quarter is supposed to solve the current inefficient situation

Prague - The proposed district of ministerial buildings in Prague's Letňany, according to Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (ANO), would help resolve the current ineffective situation where the state pays over 378 million crowns a year in rent to private entities in the capital. Babiš said this at the opening of today's conference on administrative buildings, which is attended by experts from Germany, Denmark, and Norway. According to Kateřina Arajmu, the Director General of the Office for Representation of the State in Property Matters (ÚZSVM), Letňany is the most advantageous location.

The municipality wants to release its land for Babiš's project only under conditions where the Prime Minister's views diverge from those of Prague Mayor Zdeněk Hřib (Pirates). The city wants the state to complete the outer ring road, contribute to the inner ring road, and build a hospital. In a letter to Hřib in July, Babiš assured that the state would finance the construction of the outer ring road, but prefers a trauma center instead of a hospital. According to him, the inner ring road could be addressed in the form of a PPP project, which means collaboration with a private investor. However, Hřib argues that the state is not capable of building PPP projects.

After a meeting between the two politicians in mid-September, the Prime Minister stated that he would no longer negotiate with the Mayor and would reach out to Prague councilors. According to him, since then, the Office of the Government has approached all Prague representatives and sent them, among other things, the previous correspondence between the Prime Minister and the Mayor. "We have clear ideas. Let’s hope that this conference will contribute to finding common ground with the municipality, that we will behave as responsible stewards, and that we will do this in the interest of Prague residents," Babiš stated today.

In a letter to the representatives, which CTK has seen, Babiš reiterated how much the state would save by relocating civil servants and how the buildings in the center would be utilized, as well as the state's offer to Prague. He also criticizes Mayor Hřib in the letter. Due to his unconstructive approach, cooperation between the government and the city has supposedly been disrupted, and the Mayor is not interested in substantive solutions, but in politics, the letter states.

The Prime Minister added at a press conference that Hřib is right that the Czech Republic does not know how to implement PPP projects. "But we need to have PPP projects because they work anywhere in Europe," he stated. According to him, this approach should be applied not only to roads. The state and Prague should also clarify their relations overall where they have joint property shares, for example, in the Congress Center or the Na Bulovce Hospital.

The Prime Minister objected to the notion that the government district project is "a priori rejected because it was conceived by Babiš." "If that were the case, it would take ten years, and I won't be in politics by then. It is a project for the people of Prague, there are clear synergies and clear numbers," he added. According to him, the financial return on the project is five years. "We know how to calculate," Babiš stated.

Babiš and ÚZSVM consider Letňany to be the most suitable option because up to 10,000 employees can be accommodated there, and the metropolitan plan allows for the construction of administrative buildings. The Office of the Government also emphasizes good transportation accessibility to the final stops of metro line C. Arajmu rejected today the idea that an "administrative ghetto" could arise, as Prague fears. "We would also prepare spaces for accommodation, dining facilities, children's groups, and civic amenities," she stated.