The state is preparing a subsidy program for brownfields, distributing two billion

Ústí nad Labem - The state is preparing a new grant title, thanks to which cities and municipalities in the Ústí, Moravian-Silesian, and Karlovy Vary regions could receive funds for the purchase and regeneration of brownfields, i.e., abandoned industrial areas. Jan Mládek (ČSSD), the Minister of Industry and Trade, said this today at the Business Forum in Ústí nad Labem. According to him, municipalities could receive up to two billion crowns. The regeneration of old industrial areas should provide new spaces for investors.

“We need new jobs, new production, but we also need to address many industrial, and not just industrial, but also agricultural objects from the past regime that tarnish the landscape,” said Mládek. Municipalities will be able to apply for funds for both the purchase of brownfields and their regeneration. The state will prioritize local governments. “Cities and municipalities will definitely be preferred, because as soon as you start giving it to individuals and companies, you always invite trouble,” said Mládek. He added that a framework program is already prepared, which is expected to last seven years.

The creation of the program was initiated by cities in the Ústí region, according to the chairwoman of the regional tripartite Gabriela Nekolová. “They should not have the funds for it from their budgets. These regenerated areas will then be sold to private users,” Nekolová told ČTK. According to her, it will be up to the municipalities whether they will demolish old buildings and create open land for construction or revitalize the areas.

According to the tripartite, there is already interest among entrepreneurs in development areas. “Especially in the Děčín area, where really no area for company expansion can arise other than by utilizing old industrial areas, because the territory is either protected or flood-prone,” explained Nekolová.

The ministry is now preparing the exact conditions of the program and will also request funding allocation in the state budget for the coming years. “We expect that by the end of 2016, the documents could be ready, the funds approved, and the call announced, and that it will already be possible to implement the first projects in 2017,” added Nekolová.