Praha will allocate another 1.5 billion crowns for the construction of the metro to Letňany

Prague - The Prague City Council wants to allocate an additional 1.5 billion crowns this year for the construction of a new metro section from Ládví to Letňany. The funds come from last year's budget savings and an expected increase in revenue from value-added tax, announced the mayor's economic deputy Petr Hulinský (ČSSD) to reporters today.
    In the approved budget, the city has allocated 1.4 billion crowns for the metro construction. The state has also contributed more than 400 million crowns for this purpose. The city council today proposed to the representatives to support the construction with an additional amount, as it is one of Prague's priorities.
    The new underground section will be approximately 4.6 kilometers long and will have three stations: Střížkov and Prosek in Prosek, and the final station will be in Letňany. According to plans, it is expected to open in 2008. The total costs will be around 15.5 billion crowns.
    The city council aims to increase this year's budget by a total of two billion crowns. In addition to the metro funds, they plan to allocate about 280 million crowns to the internal management of the city hall. "This includes, for example, the development of a data network and IT infrastructure, as well as the supplementing and expansion of software equipment," stated Hulinský. After the increase, there will be a reserve of over 220 million crowns in the budget for unforeseen expenses, he added.