Prague has a complete investment budget proposal for this year
Over 890 million will go to Prague education this year. Photo: archive
The capital city has completed a complete draft of the investment budget for this year. In total, it has an amount of 20.2 billion crowns set aside for investment. In December, when approving this year’s budget, the city decided to use only part of the money. Now he is deciding on the distribution of the remaining roughly 12.53 billion. The proposal for the distribution of capital expenditures was discussed and approved by the Municipal Finance Committee today. The distribution of investments still needs to be approved by city councilors.
“Today, the committee approved a proposal for a comprehensive change to the budget, which introduced investments into the budget, because in December we approved only a small percentage of investment actions. This proposal will be submitted to the council for approval on February 16 so that these actions can be fully launched,” said committee chairman Zdeněk Kovářík (ODS).
The highest amount is intended for transport, where the city invests 6.66 billion crowns. The money is designed for the development of tram lines, the construction of a new depot in Hloubětín, or the modernization of metro security and the repair of its station. The metropolis will also invest in the repair and construction of streets and the reconstruction of sidewalks or the repair and construction of bridges.
More than one billion crowns is intended for investment in urban infrastructure, and another over 890 million will go to education. The money will be used to build, expand and repair schools or build gyms.
A little less is intended for investments in culture and tourism. The least amount of money is planned for investments in safety, namely just under 192 million crowns. Prague will also invest in the restoration of the Industrial Palace or the repairs of the Holešovice Market.
The budget for this year was approved by Prague representatives last December. However, only some investments were included in the material, including more than four billion to finance the under-construction Metro D, money for projects paid from European funds and the amount needed to repair the road from Sliven to Lochkov.
Considering that Prague does not have a new leadership even four months after the elections, the budget was prepared by the finance committee in cooperation with officials. It was from the trade unions or city organizations that the demands came, on the basis of which the committee prepared the investment budget.
The total requirements reached 36 billion crowns, which is significantly more than the city can invest. From these items, the committee then chose which projects the city would support.
For this year, the metropolis has an approved budget with revenues of 99.65 billion crowns and will spend 104.88 billion crowns. Compared to last year, there will be higher incomes and expenses, which affect energy prices and wages. Income will be affected by inflation. The difference between income and expenditure is compensated by the capital, among other things, with money from the state.