Metro D has an invalid building permit. People from Pankrác have already appealed

Prague – The project of Prague Metro Line D has received a non-final building permit for the main construction and construction site facilities. A portion of the residents of Pankrác have already appealed against the permit. This may delay the start of construction. Adam Scheinherr, the Deputy Mayor (Prague Sobě), stated this to ČTK today. According to the plans of the capital city, construction is expected to begin in the spring of next year. The appeal was filed by the Pankrácká společnost association, which has long opposed the construction of the metro, particularly disagreeing with the construction of the Olbrachtova station. According to the deputy, the city has prepared several concessions that it is discussing with the residents. Metro Line D will connect Pankrác and Písnice in its first phase.

"There are two possibilities. Either we will agree with the Pankrácká společnost association and SVJ Kovářovicova, or we will not, and then the Ministry of Transport will resolve it. However, before a decision is made, the start of construction can, of course, be delayed," Scheinherr said.

The specialized building office of the city issued a non-final building permit for the main construction, namely for the construction of five stations with tunnels, and for the construction site facilities on June 30. The association sent a so-called blanket appeal to the city hall on July 11 against both decisions, into which specific objections will be included later.

Locals have long been troubled by several aspects of the project. One of them is the construction of a so-called bored pile wall near the future Olbrachtova station, the size of the construction site, or the felling of mature greenery. Scheinherr told ČTK today that the city is trying to accommodate residents on all objections. "The construction site will be one-third of the original plan and will not be in front of the house. From the original plan to cut down about a hundred of the 109 trees, we have reduced it to the most essential felling of 33 trees," Scheinherr said.

According to information published on the Pankrácká společnost website, however, people do not believe the city's progress and point out that all controversial points remain in the project documentation. "So the non-final building permit was granted to the old, unacceptable variant for residents and the association," the statement reads. People also do not believe the argument that the city needs to obtain the building permit as soon as possible, and then promised changes to the project will be made.

From the correspondence between Scheinherr and the residents, which ČTK has access to, it is clear that the transport company (DPP) will include a change in the project documentation in the files by July 28, which will eliminate the construction of the protective piles and the shaft, and the company will also request a reduction in the extent of felling to the mentioned 33 trees. According to Scheinherr, the changes will cost about 100 million crowns. "But that is still better than delaying the construction, which would increase the cost by several billion," he added.

The construction of Metro Line D has long been accompanied by difficulties. Most recently, in June of this year, the Ministry of Transport canceled the objection of bias against the city hall, filed by the Pankrácká společnost. At the same time, the Office for the Protection of Competition (ÚOHS) decided that DPP could conclude a contract with the winner of the tender for the construction of the first part of the metro. This was blocked by a preliminary injunction issued due to an objection from one of the construction companies. The city hall also had long-standing problems securing land, particularly in Krč. Here they eventually reached an agreement with the owners.

In the first phase, the metro will be built between Pankrác and Nové Dvory and will then continue to the Písnice Depot. In the future, a section from Pankrác to Náměstí Míru is to be constructed. It has not yet been decided where the metro will possibly lead from Náměstí Míru. One of the options was Náměstí Republiky, according to another, the route should head towards Žižkov and further to Vysočany. The total estimated cost is, according to this year's update, 97.79 billion crowns, and the investor is DPP.