The refugee center will move out of the Congress Center by April 14
Updates: 22.03.2022 14:23
Released: 22.03.2022, 12:51
Prague – The Assistance Center for Ukrainian Refugees will move from the Prague Congress Center (KCP) to the former headquarters of Komerční banka in Vysočany by April 14 at the latest. Prague also has another state contribution of 250 crowns to the accommodation of Ukrainian refugees by 140 crowns. Mayor Zdeněk Hřib (Pirates) told the press after the meeting of the municipal crisis staff. The reason for moving the center from Nusle is the already agreed events that KCP has, including those for the Czech Republic’s presidency of the European Union. The building in Vysočany is lent free of charge to the developer Central Group, which will pay for energy costs.
The Prague Assistance Center for Aid to Ukraine (KACPU) handled 1,937 people on Monday, about a thousand less than a week ago. Since the beginning of the Russian invasion against the neighboring country, the center has registered almost 51,000 refugees, most of all regions. The center serves Prague and the Central Bohemian Region.
“Today, the crisis staff recommended that the assistance center be moved from KCP to the premises of the former bank in Vysočany by April 14 at the latest. It is a building that we should get on loan for free and we should create a new regional assistance center there,” said Hřib . The city no longer wants to block the operation of KCP, which has already contracted events. In recent weeks, the center’s management has canceled some events.
Representatives of the municipality and firefighters visited the premises in Vysočany. Preparations for the move will begin soon. “If we want to build a new center, we must start preparations immediately,” said Luděk Prudil, director of the Prague fire brigade. Specific steps by firefighters will further adjust the current situation.
The new premises will be prepared by firefighters gradually. They will build a complete workplace with partitions and technologies in advance. The move is probably at night, when the influx of refugees in the KCP is lower than during the day. In Nusle near KCP, there will be a station with workers who will direct the refugees to Vysočany, where they will be taken by buses.
Compared to the KCP, the capacity of the new center will be about three quarters, and up to about 2,700 people will be able to handle there every day. “Which, according to current figures, should be enough without any problems, because we are now at the level of about 2,000 people a day,” said Hrib.
The crisis staff also decided that the city would add another 140 crowns from its budget to the government contribution of 250 crowns. The city should take the money from 250 million crowns allocated to help refugees. But exactly how much accommodation Prague will cost will depend on the number of refugees and the current situation. If the city paid for housing for everyone, it would cost an estimated 110 million a month. According to the mayor, this will not happen.
There are now 750 people in emergency accommodation in gyms or cultural centers, who are in 21 of the 57 city districts. The other three town halls are ready to accommodate refugees. According to the mayor’s deputy Petr Hlubuček (STAN), the city called on another town hall to participate in helping with accommodation. City districts will receive a grant from the municipality for the establishment of an emergency shelter and for aftercare. The system will be discussed by Prague representatives on Thursday.
The mushroom added that some town halls had refused to join the emergency accommodation system, even though it was based on a government regulation. “For example, the city districts of Prague 2 and Prague 13, which are run by opposition representatives at the municipality,” he said. The mayor of Prague 2 is Alexandra Udženija and Prague 13 is led by David Vodrážka (both ODS). “I am glad that only a small minority of the city districts have chosen this approach based on political PR. The others have prepared the capacity for an emergency shelter or are working on the term,” the mayor added. ČTK is looking for statements from Prague 2 and Prague 13.