University of Charles is preparing investments in new and old buildings

Prague - Charles University (UK) aims to complete the construction of a new facility for the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics in Troja and the renovation of the former cafeteria building of the 17th November dormitories this year, where the Faculty of Humanities should relocate. In total, the university plans to invest approximately 2.5 billion crowns in the construction and renovation of various buildings this year. CTK was informed by UK spokesperson Václav Hájek. The university intends to allocate around 400 million crowns for the modernization of equipment and instruments. The funds will come from its own budget, subsidies from the Ministry of Education, and the European Union.

The most significant investment for the university this year will likely be the completion of a new teaching building with a lecture hall for the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics in Troja. Of the total amount of approximately 312 million crowns for this project, the university plans to pay around 263 million crowns this year. It will utilize funds from the Ministry of Education's program as well as its own money. The construction is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

Another significant project will be the completion of the renovation of the former cafeteria on 17 November into the headquarters of the Faculty of Humanities. The project is estimated to cost a total of 630 million crowns, including landscaping. The university is expected to spend around 350 million crowns this year, again from its own funds and Ministry subsidies.

The Faculty of Humanities was established as the youngest faculty of the university in 2000 and is currently located in Jinonice, Prague. Additionally, it rents space in a former nursery on Hůrka and several rooms in Vinohrady. The relocation has been planned since 2007. Work on transforming the former cafeteria has started, and the faculty might move possibly at the beginning of next year.

Several other parts of the university are also planning investments totaling hundreds of millions of crowns. Some significant projects are anticipated by the medical faculties. The First Faculty of Medicine wants to complete the renovation of the Physiological Institute building in Albertov this year for 247 million crowns, while the Second Faculty of Medicine plans to finish the construction of a new headquarters on Plzeňská Street for 234 million crowns. The Faculty of Medicine in Plzeň will continue to work on the preparation of the University Medical Center. A mini-campus costing approximately 1.1 billion crowns is expected to be built in Plzeň by the end of 2022. Currently, preparations for a tender for the construction are underway.

In 2020, the university aims to start its largest construction project in the last hundred years. This will be a new campus in Albertov, which will include two buildings - Biocentrum and Globcentrum. The total cost of the construction is estimated at around 2.5 billion crowns from the state budget. This year, the university will pay approximately 142 million crowns for obtaining a building permit, demolishing the existing cafeteria, and three other buildings on the future construction site, as well as building a temporary cafeteria elsewhere.

The university will also begin the modernization of the Na Větrníku dormitories and the renovation of the Švehlova - Old Building dormitory this year, which is expected to last until July 2022 and should cost about a quarter of a billion crowns from Ministry subsidies. The building, dating from 1925, has been a cultural monument since 2004, but currently does not meet the requirements for modern accommodation and dining.

In the last four years, the university has renovated about ten percent of the total capacity of its dormitories, according to Hájek. Last year, it spent around 150 million crowns on repairs for student accommodation. In the coming years, it is expected to draw money from a program for the renewal of university dormitories and cafeterias, which was approved by the government last September. The program plans to support investments totaling 2.5 billion crowns by 2027. According to its press department, the Ministry aims to announce the first call by the end of February.