<MMR> will introduce a mass electronic submission system for builders</MMR>

Prague - The Ministry of Regional Development (MMR) will introduce a new electronic service for builders during the next year. Investors will be able to use the so-called collective filing system, which will change the established practice of individually contacting dozens of network administrators. From now on, it will be enough to fill out a form on the MMR website, and the electronic system will automatically determine the so-called mandatory entities and ensure the distribution of requests for opinions and statements to individual administrators. Veronika Vároši, the ministry's spokesperson, told ČTK. According to her, the costs for the new collective filing system will be in the lower millions of crowns per year.

"Our goal is for builders to communicate with all parties involved in the construction process electronically through the Builder's Portal. However, it will not be fully completed for another three years. But we want to take this first step sooner. Having the option to submit one request for the necessary documents at least to the network owners electronically will undoubtedly be the first significant simplification," stated Klára Dostálová, the Minister for Regional Development (for ANO).

Vároši reminded that the current practice is such that before a builder submits an application for a construction permit, they must provide the building authority with dozens of opinions and statements from the owners of technical infrastructure and affected authorities. According to her, there are more than 40 network owners in Prague alone whose interests may be affected by construction.

"It is therefore clear that to submit applications to the correct places, it is crucial to have a high-quality, up-to-date, and comprehensive overview of the jurisdiction of all technical infrastructure owners in the Czech Republic. There are more than 20,000 such entities, each with its area of interest where its technology or planned development areas are located. The new system can determine which owners are relevant in a specific case and will automatically send and prove the delivery of applications to them," the spokesperson stated. According to the ministry, the planned Builder's Portal will be one part of a large puzzle that will create a digitized construction process.

The total costs for the digitization of the construction process, according to the MMR, will amount to about five billion crowns. "We have already managed to secure the first funds from European money. The European Commission approved the internal transfer of one billion within the IROP (Integrated Regional Operational Program) from unutilized funds specifically for the digitization of the construction process," Dostálová stated.

On Sunday, the minister stated that she would like to present the discussed construction law to the government on Monday, August 24. According to the government's plan, it should be effective from spring 2021. The cabinet hopes for a significant acceleration and simplification of construction approvals. The effectiveness should gradually ramp up by mid-2023.

According to representatives of business chambers and associations, the law has deviated from its original form after incorporating comments and will significantly worsen the situation in construction instead of simplifying it. The original draft of the regulation also had many critics. Among the most common objections was that it favored developers and did not protect public interests.