Of the 655 plots of land needed for metro D, Prague has less than two dozen so far
Land purchases are provided by the Municipal Property Department in cooperation with the city company Trade Center Prague. For 180 plots of land, for which the transport company (DPP) approached the city with the need to ensure their purchase, the municipality entered into negotiations with the owners. So far, however, an agreement has been reached on only a fraction of the plot.
It also negotiates a possible shift with some city owners. “If the shifts are approved, another 15 plots could be settled gradually,” the document for the councilor said. In Krč, the city again agreed on a joint approach with landowners who want to build in the vicinity of the future metro.
Expropriation? The estimate was up to 15 years
Negotiations are complicated, according to the municipality, and many landowners are demanding exorbitant prices that the city cannot pay. If it is not possible to reach an agreement, the municipality cases before the DPP to initiate expropriation as an investor.
Map of the Prague metro, including the planned route from Písnice to Vysočany.
Photo: Novinky.cz using Mapy.cz
The company has stated in the past that expropriation of land would take up to 15 years. Therefore, the management of the municipality some time ago came up with a plan to establish a joint venture between the transport company (DPP) and the company. Penta won the tender. The joint venture is intended to facilitate the purchase of land, as the private individual will have 51 percent of it, so it will not be necessary to follow the strict rules that apply to public entities when negotiating.
However, after the criticism of some coalition politicians, the plan to establish the company stopped and the councilors did not approve it. Its representatives criticized the Trojkoalice, according to which it is risky for the city and, moreover, unnecessary, because the approved amendment to the law will facilitate the purchase of land. It is a use that the establishment of the company will not be decided until the October elections.
A geological survey will begin
Metro D connects the center with the southern parts of the city. A geological survey for the first new section between Pankrác Dvory should begin this summer. It will last until the middle of next year and will cost about a billion crowns. After that, the construction from Pankrác to Písnice will begin, and in the next phase the remaining two stations on Náměstí Bratří Synků and náměstí Míru. Driverless trains will run on the new line. In total, metro D from Písnice to náměstí Míru is expected to cost 50 billion crowns.
The metro in Prague began running on May 9, 1974 on a 6.6-kilometer-long section from Kačerov in the Sokolovská region (now Florenc). About four years later, on August 12, 1978, the first section of line A from náměstí Míru to Dejvice was put into operation. The metro now includes 61 stations on three lines. In addition to line D, there is also talk of further expansion, for example to the airport or from Letňany to Čakovice. However, no specific section was decided.