Prague will sign an agreement with landowners for Metro D in Krč

Prague - Prague will sign an agreement with private owners regarding the use of land near the hospital in Krč, which is needed for the construction of the new metro line D. Today, Prague's city council made this decision. The agreement includes the withdrawal of a lawsuit that the owners challenged the zoning decision for the metro, and permission for the construction of line D on private lands based on a lease agreement. The city should pay the owners about 10.1 million crowns annually and create conditions for the realization of their own planned construction.

Metro D will run from Pankrác to Písnice, and the Prague Transport Company (DPP) has started geological surveys this year. The construction of the line will cost several tens of billions of crowns.

Private owners plan to build offices and apartments on the lands around the future station Nemocnice Krč. The City Hall, with the approved agreement, commits to modify the metro project to be in line with this development. The city also promises to change the zoning plan and lift the currently valid construction moratoriums on the parcels. According to the approved document, changes are already being prepared and should be approved by the middle of next year. The transport company as the investor will cancel the originally planned square, replaced by the buildings of the owners.

In exchange, the owners will withdraw the lawsuit and allow the transport company to build on their lands based on the lease agreement. The contract is expected to last until the end of 2038, and the annual rent will be 10.1 million crowns, with the amount potentially increasing in the future according to price developments. "The content of the agreement is the maximum possible compromise, where no further concessions can be made by the owners," states the approved document. The initial initiating agreement was signed by the city and the owners in 2017.

Waiting for the court's decision regarding the lawsuit from the owners would be risky, according to the city hall. "In the worst case, there is also a risk of the entire zoning decision being annulled, and the entire zoning process would have to be repeated," states the rationale report.

"We have achieved the withdrawal of all lawsuits through this, as we have reached an agreement with owners around the Pankrác station in previous months, who also withdrew their lawsuit," said Adam Scheinherr, Deputy Mayor for Transport (Prague Sobě). The agreement and lease contract for the lands around the hospital will be signed this Wednesday morning.

First Deputy Mayor Petr Hlaváček (for TOP 09) added that the proposed development by the landowners is appropriate for the location, and one of the conditions of the agreement is that there will not be a large shopping center, but rather a combination of apartments and shops. According to him, the city will continue to express its views on the project's form during its preparation.

Prague and the transport company have been dealing with land acquisitions for metro D for a long time, which has so far been one of the largest obstacles to starting construction. The city council approved a similar agreement regarding the lands around the planned Nádraží Krč station this March. Private owners also plan to build there. Scheinherr said today that in both cases the same owners are involved, and considering the agreement regarding Nemocnice Krč, a quick resolution can be expected for the area around Krč station as well. This will resolve the lands for the first phase of the construction, he added. Under the previous political representation, a plan was created to establish a joint venture with the Penta group for land acquisition. However, this agreement was not realized.

In the first phase, a metro section from Pankrác to Olbrachtova is to be created. Subsequently, the construction will be extended to the Nové Dvory stop. The route to the terminus at Depo Písnice will be built last, heading south. In addition to the section from Pankrác to Písnice, metro D will run from Pankrác to náměstí Míru. A decision on the construction of this part of the route has not yet been made. Driverless trains will operate on the new line.