Plans in place to make Prague industrial site whole new district
A site in Prague that was previously home to a major truck factory should become a whole new district in the coming decades. The site in the north-east of the city will be named after the Avia brand associated with it, Czech Television reported.
Avia trucks were produced for many decades where the Prague districts of Letňany and Čakovice meet. However, following the revolution the previously successful company was bought by a Korean firm, which went bankrupt.
Truck production at the site wound down and was eventually discontinued altogether, Czech TV said.
Today the 66-hectare complex, which includes 140 different buildings, is in a decrepit state. Experts are assessing which structures can be saved on the brownfield site.
The old main Avia production hall, once one of the region’s biggest facilities of its kind, is heavily contaminated with grease and chemicals. Cleanup work has been initiated.
In future the whole complex, planned for completion in 25 years’ time, should be named Avia City.
Michael Saran, the CEO of the Odien group, which is behind the new project, says an important element will be maintaining the legacy of the truck maker’s history.
An original reservoir will be kept intact within the CZK 70 billion property development.
It will be home to up to 11,000 people and should have two schools, five kindergartens and many other amenities.
The new district will also be served by a modernised rail service and new tram line, under the current plans.
However, Prague’s present territorial plan represents a brake on the Avia City project, Czech TV said. The same applies for planned conversions of former industrial sites in several other parts of the Czech capital.
