The Vodochody Airport has a valid EIA report, it is closer to expansion

Odolena Voda - The Vodochody Airport near Prague has a valid environmental impact assessment from the Ministry of the Environment (MŽP). It is therefore closer to expansion and can apply for a zoning decision. If preparations proceed ideally, the expansion could be completed within seven years, said Ivo Mravinac, spokesman for the investment group Penta, to ČTK today. Penta is the project's investor. The ministry also confirmed the decision to ČTK today.

Some surrounding municipalities oppose the airport's expansion and have been fighting against it for a long time. They are concerned about excessive noise and the impact on groundwater, for example. "We are still in the first half of an endless marathon, because we have the extremely important EIA, but ahead of us is the zoning procedure and building permit," Mravinac stated.

The MŽP today issued a verification statement confirming the original positive EIA opinion on the project from 2013. "The verification statement is one of the necessary documents for the notifier to initiate the permitting process," said Dominika Pospíšilová from the ministry to ČTK.

In May, the ministry halted the review process for the assessment and confirmed the validity of the opinion from 2013, but was still verifying whether it met the requirements of the amendment to the law from 2015, which was confirmed today. According to original information, the verification was supposed to be completed by this year's holidays.

"The EIA statement from 2013 is thus valid and, together with today's issued verification, can be used as one of the necessary documents for the permitting process, in which actual decisions will be made about project approvals, such as zoning proceedings, building proceedings, and others," added Pospíšilová.

The positive assessment from 2013 contained over 120 conditions that the investor must meet. For example, it included the completion of a connector to the D8 motorway. Due to complaints from mayors of surrounding municipalities, who submitted 40 proposals, the ministry reviewed it and canceled it in 2014. The fulfillment of conditions is incorporated into the documents for the zoning proceedings.

The airport will now have the documents revised according to director Martin Kačur. Several conditions were omitted by the ministry according to today's decision. "We need to update some other things because other laws have changed in the meantime," added Kačur. This concerns, for example, the assessment of noise impact and similar issues. According to the director, it is currently impossible to precisely estimate how long the integration will take, but it will definitely be a matter of months.