The Science and Technology Park Plzeň will double in size thanks to European subsidies

Plzeň - Plzeň will receive a grant of 300 million crowns from the EU for the second phase of the Science and Technology Park (VTP). The city hall intends to start construction this year. Its duration and the final amount of support from the Operational Program Prosperity will depend on the offer from the construction company. Erich Beneš, head of the city's European project coordination department, told ČTK.
"The grant is approved; if we meet all its conditions, such as the tender for the contractor, we can draw it. We are currently working on the tender documentation," he added. The city will announce the competition for the construction works contractor in June, and it will be known in the fall. Construction, which should last from one and a half to two years, will start by the end of this year. The current number of 150 employees at VTP will nearly double to about 400 after the expansion.
The first phase of the park, costing a quarter of a billion crowns, was opened by Plzeň in May 2008, with the EU providing 150 million crowns for it. The area of over 5000 m2 was completely filled within six months. The city decided two years ago to double the area due to strong interest from development companies, investing about 300 million crowns, and submitted a preliminary application for grants from the Operational Program Prosperity to CzechInvest last July.
The second phase will be entirely different from the first. It will consist of five semi-operational buildings, which will include laboratories and development sections, created for specific clients and projects, in addition to offices. Key partners will be the University of West Bohemia and the Řež Nuclear Research Institute.
The largest base for science and research in the Plzeň Region has emerged on the outskirts of the most successful Czech industrial zone, Borská pole. The city strongly supports the VTP project and actively seeks partners. "We want top companies with high added value here. We do not support assembly plants with temporary foreign workers," said Deputy Mayor Vladimír Duchek.
The city is the sole owner of the VTP. At the end of last year, it purchased five percent of the park's shares from the Plzeň Region for 6.5 million crowns, and its operations are balanced. Currently, 15 companies and institutions operate there, which pay VTP rent for the area and services. "This involves research, development, and innovations in the fields of the automotive industry, electronics, software, and genetic laboratory," said VTP director Adolf Bláha. The University of West Bohemia has two applied research facilities there.