Five tasks for Prague in 2023: form a coalition, build a metro and complete the Metropolitan Plan
Task number one: put together a coalition
The majority of Prague residents who have been able to watch the post-election struggles in their city are, to say the least, annoyed. Prague will enter the new year with the outgoing government of Zdenek Hřiba (Pirates), after the politician at the municipality failed to agree on a new leadership of the metropolis even at the third meeting.
The last council meeting in December even ended in utter fiasco for the winning Spolu coalition, which unsuccessfully tried to elect Bohuslav Svoboda (ODS) as mayor, but without forming a complete council. Senator and councilor Hana Kordová Marvanová, who decided at the last moment not to support Svoboda, buried the choice on the border of what to offer laws. She did not want to vote with the ANO movement, with whom Spolu is negotiating tolerance for her minority cabinet. Together they have 33 votes out of 65.
The vote showed how inappropriate a minority or majority coalition Together with ANO without the support of another party would be, because the illness or disobedience of a single representative would be enough and any vote would once again end in embarrassment and paralysis of the city.
Representatives of the Spolu coalition do not hide their anger at the actions of Marvanová, who preferred to shut herself in her office in front of them during the council meeting in question. Svoboda regrets that he ever put popular colleagues on the candidate list. “I really didn’t think of this. Now, for me, he is a person I no longer want to communicate with,” he told the server iToday.
However, the government-style coalition preferred by many – Spolu, Piráti and STAN – is also almost impossible. The negotiations broke down due to a disagreement on the distribution of seats in the eleven-member row and the Pirates’ demand to include Prague in the coalition. The parties blame each other in the media.
The mayors have decided that they will not support the coalition with ANO in any form, so the situation remains concrete. In the meantime, the faces of three SPD representatives, who may have just been waiting for positions in the city management, peek out from the fog. He has to make a decision only on February 9, i.e. after the presidential elections.
Task number two: build subway D
The city management will have to select the builder of the second section of metro D from the planned Olbracht station to Nové Dvory starting this year. It will choose from three consortia, consisting of sixteen companies from five countries. The city should announce the winner by the end of March, and construction should begin in the second half of the year.
“The contract includes the construction of three stations, Nádraží Krč, Nemocnice Krč and Nové Dvory, including inter-station operational, technological and access tunnels, as well as the construction of a power supply system,” said Aneta Řehková, spokeswoman for the Prague transport company. Construction of the first section from Pankrác to Písnice began in April, the third section from Nové Dvorů to Depo Písnice will be the last to be built. The total costs are tentatively estimated at 52 billion crowns.
All parties in the municipality agree on the need to build in the metropolis. However, Svoboda and other representatives of Spolu repeat that the urban ring road is a less important construction, a large piece is still missing to be completed. According to Spolu, both buildings should be built at the same time.
However, the current coalition argues that Prague has secured finances for the metro, and therefore it should be built as a priority. According to the representatives of the current councils, the city circuit cannot be built without the involvement of the state, which, however, does not have investments reaching hundreds of billions of crowns. In addition, the municipality needs all building permits.
In addition to the metro, the transport company plans to build a tram line next year, including the one in the upper part of Wenceslas Square, for more than a billion crowns. It will also start with the construction of a trolleybus line from Veleslavín to the airport or enable contactless purchase of tickets on all buses.
Task number three: complete the Metropolitan Plan
Prague is now being built according to the spatial plan from 1994. If all goes according to plan, the long-prepared Metropolitan Plan should come into effect in the capital next year. However, due to the thousands of comments received from the public and city districts this year, it is not certain that the 2023 deadline will be met. The representatives will have the last word, who will have to approve the plan.
It is precisely in this case that the new coalition and its vision are missing. Politicians’ views on the Metropolitan Plan diverge somewhat, and the new council may push for a rework of the plan, which could extend its preparation for years. It is no secret that Petr Hlaváček (STAN), the current deputy and former head of the Institute of Planning and Development, is the greatest expert in planning and spatial planning. It is not clear if he will be part of the new coalition or if someone else will take over his position. However, this is one of the most complex gestures, it will be difficult for the other parties to occupy.
Task number four: about the energy center
Heating Prague households using sewage water is an imaginary child of the current coalition. The energy center project on Císařská ostrov has been developing for over two years. However, a strong political agreement is needed to really launch the project. Building the energy center would cost 7.5 billion crowns, part of which could be covered by subsidies, which would ensure heating for up to 200,000 people on the left bank of the Vltava.
“Due to the significant consumption of domestic hot water, the wastewater flowing into the wastewater treatment plants has a relatively high temperature,” the feasibility study states. With the help of exchangers, the energy center would be able to obtain excess heat from the processed water, thereby reducing the metropolis’ dependence on natural gas. The plan is based on the climate strategy that Hřib’s government approved the previous year. The Together coalition has so far taken a rather reserved approach to climate issues; a clear political assignment is thus awaited in this area.
Prague will have to continue to withstand the energy crisis, it should launch a generous aid package for families who have problems with high energy and food prices. To do this, it will have to continue to reduce the energy intensity of city buildings, public transport and other areas.
Task number five: about the future of the urban developer
The contribution organization Prague Development Company was founded by the expiring Hřib coalition at the instigation of Petr Hlaváček. The company was given the task of evaluating urban land for construction and preparing urban rental housing projects. The members of the current coalition, i.e. Piráti, Praha sebo, STAN and TOP 09, mostly agree that rental apartments should be built by the city. The Spolu coalition, on the other hand, wants to leave construction to developers with whom the city would agree. What will be the future of the Prague Development Company or the Municipal Rental Agency, or what new tasks they will be given, is currently not clear.
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