The battle for topsoil is headed for a compromise. A ban on construction would reduce the competitiveness of the Czech Republic

In the increasingly fierce competition with Poland, Slovakia or Hungary for the construction of industrial sites, including those of the strategic gigafactory type, the Czech Republic can shoot itself in the foot. In the Chamber of Deputies, there is a proposal for an amendment to the law of the Ministry of the Environment, which is to prohibit the construction of warehouses, shops, and solar power plants on the highest quality agricultural land. Although the regulation does not explicitly mention production facilities, they cannot do without warehouse space and the tightening would also affect them. None of the countries of the European Union has such strict regulations.

At the same time, two-thirds of the locations selected for future industrial areas are located precisely on topsoil I. and II. classes. This follows from the database of real estate and areas for business purposes of the state agency Czechinvest. There are almost 280 of these plots out of a total of 460 selected.

The law will also affect industrial zones

According to experts, not only upcoming investment projects but also Škoda Auto, Hyundai and other large domestic manufacturers would pay for the strict rules if they wanted to expand their current production capacities.

“In principle, it can be said that, for the most part, it would no longer be possible to build other large industrial projects in the Czech Republic,” said Ondřej Votruba, executive director of the Association for Foreign Investments – AFI. He added that if the parliament approves a blanket ban on construction, it will be a big blow to the competitiveness of the Czech Republic. “The law will affect not only construction on green fields, but also some brownfields, and even strategic industrial zones,” warned Votruba.

The fact that the presented standard does not mention production operations is not essential for gigafactories or smaller projects. “Warehouses form a non-negligible part of production halls. If the term warehouse means industrial construction in general, then this ban will also affect production projects,” said Ondřej Míček from the international real estate consulting company Savills. At the same time, it is common for the zoning plans of cities and municipalities to overwhelmingly allow industrial construction for production and storage together.

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Article author: Pavel Otto
Source: E15