Towns and regions can draw 500 million crowns for the regeneration of brownfields

Prague – In the new grant program, 500 million crowns are allocated for municipalities and regions for the regeneration of neglected buildings and sites for business purposes and to reduce the energy intensity of buildings. The Ministry of Industry and Trade is accepting preliminary applications for support. The funds will come from the National Recovery Plan. The spokesperson for the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Vojtěch Srnka, informed about the program today.

In January, the Ministry of Industry and Trade announced that in February, or at the latest in March, it would announce a call for municipalities and regions, where they could apply for grants for the restoration of brownfields. It has now launched the acceptance of preliminary applications. The date of the announcement of the call, i.e., the detailed conditions, and the start of the acceptance of full applications for support is still unknown.

Regions, municipalities, cities, and city districts from all over the Czech Republic can apply for funds if they have brownfields suitable for future predominant business and partially non-business use, including the construction of municipal housing. "The regeneration of brownfields involves higher costs," warned the Minister of Industry and Trade Jozef Síkela.

From the program for the regeneration of brownfields for business use, local governments will have the opportunity to obtain up to ten million euros (approximately 246 million crowns) for one project, according to information about the program on the MPO website. With the money, municipalities and regions can partially repair or complete old buildings in brownfield areas and reduce their energy demands or demolish them and build new structures with low energy demands instead.

"Submitting a preliminary application for a grant is a condition for the emergence of eligible costs and for the commencement of physical realization of the project," stated Srnka.

The National Recovery Plan was approved by the previous government last May, the European Commission agreed to its form in July, and the finance ministers of EU countries in September. Overall, the Czech Republic is set to receive up to 180 billion crowns from the EU in the coming years. The plan is divided into six main areas that should be financed from it. The largest share, approximately 91 billion crowns, is designated for infrastructure and projects mitigating climate change. Additional funds are to be allocated for digital transformation, education and the labor market, development and innovation, business support, and health.

Since 2017, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has been providing grants for the regeneration of brownfields and their future use for business purposes. The Regeneration and Business Utilization of Brownfields program was intended for municipalities and cities in the Moravian-Silesian, Ústí, and Karlovy Vary regions and in other economically problematic regions. Regions could receive support of up to 60 percent, and grants for smaller municipalities could reach up to 95 percent of eligible expenses. For one project, the MPO provided a contribution of up to 60 million crowns. In the previous five calls of the program, the ministry selected 29 projects, some of which have already been completed.