The National Investment Plan includes 17,000 projects worth 3.45 trillion CZK

Prague - The National Investment Plan of the government includes over 17,000 projects worth 3.45 trillion crowns for the years 2019 to 2030. Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (ANO) stated this today at the Meeting of Leaders of Czech Construction. By 2022, this amounts to 1.23 trillion crowns. According to him, the cabinet will establish a Government Council for Public Investment and create a state expertise at the Ministry for Regional Development (MMR), which will be responsible for coordinating project preparations.

"The Ministry for Regional Development conducted extensive data collection, where not only all ministries were approached but also municipalities, towns, and regions. We did this in close cooperation. That’s why we had those trips to the regions. The result is the creation of an investment preference map, which will now be confronted with the capital possibilities of the Czech Republic," Babiš stated.

The government wants to divide the period from 2019 to 2030 into two parts. In the first part, up to 2022, projects worth 1.226 trillion crowns have been included in the program. "We are proceeding on the assumption that this government, if it lasts, will still be preparing the budget for 2022. That’s why we divided it this way. Now we will analyze it. We need to set priorities and find the money for it," the Prime Minister added.

According to him, it is necessary to define the bodies that will be responsible for the national investment plan. For this purpose, a Government Council for Public Investment will be created and at MMR there will be state expertise. "The Government Council will correspond in its structure to the government and will be responsible for the final selection of projects. The state expertise will be an organizational unit at MMR, which will be responsible for coordinating project preparations. It will connect individual public investors and communicate their mutual needs. It will create methodologies and standards for public investment," Babiš added.

The total expenditures of the state budget for next year are proposed by the Ministry of Finance at 1.505 trillion crowns and revenues at 1.465 trillion crowns. The office also expects a deficit of 40 billion crowns in 2020 and 2021. According to the government, the budget priorities are investments, improving the living standards of seniors, and increasing salaries in public administration. The basic parameters of the budget, which can no longer be changed, were approved by the Chamber of Deputies at the end of October.