Milovice Research Park is delayed, funding is at risk

Milovice (Nymburk Region) - A grant of 400 million Czech crowns for a research park in Milovice in the Nymburk region is at risk. The construction is delayed, and work has been stalled for several months. The grant from European funds is conditional on the completion of the building by the end of June. "Work has been suspended. When it will continue, no one knows," said Milan Pour, the mayor of Milovice (ANO), to ČTK. The operators of the area could not be reached by ČTK.
    The recipient of the grant for the scientific and technological complex with an aerodynamic tunnel is the non-profit organization VTP AT Milovice, which is supposed to operate the park. The company has already received the first stage of the project funded by European funds, amounting to approximately 18 million crowns, and if it does not meet the project conditions, including timely completion of the construction, it risks losing the funding.
    "The work on VTP Milovice is behind schedule compared to the original timetable, and the recipient is classified as a project under increased supervision. A meeting is planned at the Ministry of Industry and Trade with the grant recipient regarding the status of the project implementation for mid-March," said Igor Walter from the ministry to ČTK.
    According to the building authority in Lysá nad Labem, contaminated soil was found on the site, but the mayor stated that this is not the reason for the current delay. "The reasons are rather some other finances. They haven't been working there for several months; I took over as mayor sometime in November, and at that time, the activities had just been kind of paused," he added.
    The scientific and technological park began construction last March and aims to provide support for commercial research activities and space for collaboration between the scientific and business sectors. The complex is expected to offer over 8,000 m² of equipped office and laboratory space, primarily for the automotive industry and for the sustainable energy sector.