OKD will build a golf course, hotel, and expand the museum in Karviná

Ostrava/Karviná - A new golf complex with a park and a hotel will be created in the former mining area of Lipiny in Karviná by 2013. The largest domestic hard coal company, OKD, will build it on almost 70 hectares along the Olše River. Over the next five years, the mining company also plans to renovate the OKD Mining Museum complex in Petřkovice, a suburb of Ostrava. The company estimates the cost of both projects at 400 million crowns, Tomáš Kantor from 4EURO Partners told reporters today.
    OKD aims to obtain funding from European structural funds. Former EU Commissioner Pavel Telička, who has become a new member of the board of the NWR company, which owns OKD, is expected to assist with this.
    At Landek, OKD will build a modern museum center and a hotel for 250 people. The complex will include a park that will connect cycling paths along the Ostravice River to Komenské Sady in the center of Ostrava. According to board member and co-owner of OKD Zdeněk Bakala, the company wants to contribute to the development of industrial and congress tourism in the Moravian-Silesian Region. "We want to change the face of the region and also improve its environment. The projects in Karviná and Ostrava are the first sign of that," said Bakala.
    In Karviná, a golf course will first be created in the area affected by the decline of the Darkov mine. A park will later be added on the left bank of the Olše. The golf complex is also expected to include a hotel. "I am glad that OKD has decided to revitalize the whole area. The city must live in symbiosis with the mining company. What Karviná loses from mining, it must get back. We also want to shed the label of heavy industry. Karviná should be seen as a tourist, spa, and university city," said the mayor of Karviná, Tomáš Hanzel. He added that the entire project is a private matter of OKD, so the city will not financially participate in it.
    The renovation of the mining museum at Landek is expected to begin with the construction of a modern museum center. "We will expand the mining museum with new tour routes that will provide visitors with so-called experiential tourism. We also plan to include school education about the region's traditions. At the lower part of the complex, there should be a large-capacity hotel that will also serve as a congress center. We opted for the hotel because of its proximity to the D47 highway, but also to financially sustain the whole complex," said Kantor.
    In the final phase, a new park will be created in the area, which will include facilities for mothers with children. The project developers also plan for students from Ostrava universities. "The park will also have a place for internet connectivity," added Kantor.
    OKD wants to obtain funds for the project implementation from European structural funds through BXL Consulting, whose Brussels director is Telička. He has become a new member of the board of the Dutch company New World Resources (NWR), which is owned by the Cypriot company RPG Industries SE. NWR owns 100 percent of OKD. The RPG company is controlled by a group of various individuals and investors, including Bakala. The holding also includes the second-largest railway carrier in the Czech Republic - OKD, Doprava, the processing company for mine gas OKD, DBP, and the RPG group, which manages apartments and land from OKD's former portfolio.