MPO: It is necessary to support housing construction, money can be found

Prague - In the country, it is necessary to support residential construction in the future. The state could find the necessary funds in the operational plan of the Ministry of Regional Development, where financial resources are relatively abundant. This was stated today at the Žofín Forum by Jiří Koliba, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade and Vice-Chairman of the Government Council for Construction of the Czech Republic.

"Some financial titles have already been announced, and I would like to see this reflected in residential construction as a fundamental segment of building construction," Koliba stated without further details.

Residential construction in the Czech Republic has, however, been growing this year. From the beginning of the year to the end of September, according to the Czech Statistical Office (CSO), the number of started apartments increased year-on-year by more than six percent. The number of completed apartments rose by 5.6%, with the total in apartment buildings increasing by more than a fifth.

According to Koliba, while the current growth of construction production is satisfactory, it is also very uneven. "While civil engineering is growing significantly, building construction is still struggling. It is necessary to find a way to support this sector. And residential construction could be one of the solutions," he added.

According to the CSO, production in civil engineering in September increased by 17% year-on-year, while in building construction it fell by 4.6%. "We cannot be satisfied with that decline. The State Housing Development Fund is functioning, but it focuses not on grants but on loan titles. And in a situation where interest rates on mortgage loans are at a historical low, it makes no sense to subsidize interest. Because there is actually nothing to subsidize," Koliba said today.

The mortgage market in the Czech Republic has increased by nearly a third this year. Banks provided citizens with 75,900 mortgages totaling 135.3 billion crowns during the three quarters. In the same period last year, banks issued 63,600 mortgages for 105.2 billion crowns, according to data from the Ministry of Regional Development. Experts believe that this year will again be record-breaking in terms of the number and volume of concluded mortgages.

However, Koliba sees the assessment of environmental impacts, the so-called EIA law, as the biggest threat to Czech construction. "The Ministry of the Environment (MŽP) was not in an easy situation. It could have made a bad or even worse decision. We could have rejected the amendment, but we would have lost EU funds. Or accept it and endanger the construction of mainly larger buildings. But I cannot say that not adopting the amendment would be the lesser evil," Koliba stated.

The amendment is supposed to introduce, among other things, the binding nature of the results of environmental impact assessments for subsequent territorial or building proceedings, greater information obligations for the relevant authorities, and consultative participation of the public in permitting processes due to the EU. The regulation was one of the conditions for the European Commission to sign a strategic Partnership Agreement with the Czech Republic. The agreement determines how the Czech Republic will draw funds from European funds during the programming period 2014 to 2020.

"The Czech Republic is dependent on drawing funds from the EU, and construction is significantly influenced by this. The requirements of the European Commission in the area of the environment are becoming very strict. If we want to draw funds from European funds, we must meet its requirements," responded Evžen Doležal, director of the Environmental Impact Assessment and Integrated Prevention Department at the Ministry of the Environment. However, Václav Matyáš, President of the Association of Entrepreneurs in Construction in the Czech Republic, considers the position of the MŽP to be absurd. "This results in fatal impacts on the preparation of construction projects," he stated.