The parcels in Karlín will be acquired by the Rohan Consortium

Prague - The Prague City Hall will sell lucrative plots on Rohanský Island in Karlín to the Rohan Consortium, which will pay approximately 1.68 billion crowns for them. The company, owned by the development company Sekyra Group, offered the highest amount in the tender 8567 crowns per square meter. The city council confirmed the results of the competition today, said Mayor's Deputy Pavel Klega (ODS) to reporters.
    The competition concerned about 200,000 square meters of land. A new city center is expected to be developed there, estimated to cost 17.5 billion crowns. There will be residential buildings, shops, services, offices, a riverside, a park, and a swimming pool, Klega stated. New city centers have previously emerged in Smíchov, and another is under construction in Pankrác. Among other locations waiting for development are plots from heavy industry in Vysočany and unused plots at the Bubny and Žižkov railway stations.
    The Rohan Consortium won the competition over Development Pobřežní, which offered 1.59 billion crowns, and Avenzo Vice with a price of 1.47 billion crowns.
    "At this moment, we are not selling any plots. The city will first lease them and then sell them as the project is gradually realized," Klega emphasized. This way, the city will retain a certain level of control over what will be built on the plots. Construction is planned between 2010 and 2018. Within six months, the consortium must submit a detailed development study.
    Seventeen candidates applied for the tender, with formal requirements and urban studies evaluated in the first round. Three companies that met the conditions and were favored by the city development department advanced to the second round, where they were to submit a price offer. Price was the most important criterion, while the construction schedule and contractual penalties were given much less weight.
    Analyst Ondřej Novotný from the international consulting company King Sturge previously stated that, in his opinion, the price is on the lower end. According to him, Rohanský Island is the only extensive area in such close proximity to the center that can still be developed. Klega pointed out that the area is lucrative but the project is complex because it intertwines public and private activities.
    Karlín is already preparing for new construction. Flood barriers costing 626 million crowns have already been completed, and this year the extension of Pobřežní Street to the Libeň Bridge will be finished. This year, road construction will cost about 90 million crowns. With the help of European funds, the land will be modified for 182 million crowns, and some old buildings will be removed.
    Rohanský Island is also set to undergo other significant changes. Areas not protected by flood defenses will serve for residents' rest. The city plans to utilize around 60 hectares of land for new greenery, sports, and recreation. The previously buried branch of the Vltava River is to be restored, creating Rohanský and Maninský Islands.
    Rohanský Island, like the whole of Karlín, which it belongs to, was devastated by the catastrophic flood in August 2002. Now, this district is protected by barriers against potential recurrence of natural disasters. Most of the plots offered by the city in the competition are in the protected part of the island.