Prague wants to exchange assets with the state for several billion crowns

Prague - The capital city has real estate worth several billion crowns, which it would like to exchange for land and other state property. This includes, for example, fire stations or buildings of the Na Bulovce Hospital. A condition for the exchange is that the state changes its methodology for determining property values and approves the right of first refusal for local governments to purchase state property. In an interview with ČTK, Mayor Zdeněk Hřib (Pirates) stated this. He has previously called on Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (ANO) not to block the already planned exchanges of assets, which he claims were halted due to a dispute over land in Letňany, where the Prime Minister wants to build a complex for officials.

The fire stations owned by the city, which could be transferred to the state, are valued at about 1.1 billion crowns, according to the mayor. The city's properties at Na Bulovce Hospital are valued at about 1.5 billion, and the city also owns land in the area of the Vinohrady Hospital. According to Hřib, the city has already contacted the government with a letter listing the properties it is offering and is now awaiting a response.

However, the leadership of Prague is conditioning the exchanges on two requirements. The first relates to the fact that the state, according to Hřib, uses a dual methodology for determining the value of property, making it disadvantageous for the city. The mayor therefore demands that the value be determined equally for the property it receives as for the property it transfers to the city.

The second condition is that the right of first refusal for state property be enshrined in law for local governments. This is already being advocated by Prague councilor for legislation Hana Kordová Marvanová (for STAN), but according to Hřib, the government rejected her proposal. All property that the state wants to dispose of is currently going to auction. According to Hřib, the exchange of property is the only way to circumvent the auctions now.

"A paradoxical situation is occurring where property that is used by the state and state organizations belongs to the city, and conversely, some property belongs to the state but the city urgently needs it for its functioning and investments," said councilor for property Jan Chabr (TOP 09). According to him, this leads to neither the city nor the state being able to carry out the necessary renovations, resulting in buildings falling into disrepair. "The goal is therefore to carry out exchanges and to clear up these property relations as much as possible," said the councilor.

At the end of last November, Hřib called on Babiš to instruct the Office for State Representation in Property Matters (ÚZSVM) to carry out previously agreed property exchanges between the state and the capital city. Hřib wrote in a letter that Babiš halted these prepared transactions due to the land in Letňany, where he wants to build a complex for officials and has been unable to reach an agreement with the city. In response, the Prime Minister stated that the mayor does not respond to his letters regarding the official quarter.

The Prime Minister wants to build a complex for thousands of officials on the land near the Letňany metro station, which is owned by the magistrate. According to the Prime Minister, the project is mainly aimed at saving money on rent and the operation of current buildings. Babiš and the leadership of Prague have long been unable to agree on the plan; Hřib has repeatedly stated that he does not want an "official ghetto" in Letňany and that he demands the fulfillment of several conditions before further negotiations. In addition to unblocking property changes, these include the completion of the outer ring road, a state contribution of 60 billion crowns for the completion of the inner ring road, and the construction of a new hospital in Letňany.