SIRS and Cheb are negotiating a joint venture. It will bring benefits to the city and oversee the preparation of the Strategic Business Park

Cheb, 15 November 2024 - Representatives of the State Investment and Development Company, the CzechInvest agency and the Cheb Task Group, together with the city management, have negotiated the conclusion of a joint venture concerning the preparation of the Strategic Business Park in Cheb. This will provide the City with guaranteed resources for financing follow-on projects as well as greater oversight over the preparation of the Park, including influencing the typology of the final investor. The meeting of the working group was visited by the Minister of Industry and Trade Lukáš Vlček, who was presented with the basic parameters of the project.

"The joint venture is a unique form of cooperation, which is unprecedented in the field of investment projects between the state and the city in the Czech Republic. Our goal is to create synergy between all parties involved and to jointly build a project that will lead to an increase in our competitiveness and help the transformation of the Karlovy Vary Region. Together with our colleagues from SIRS, we are coming up with innovative models of cooperation inspired by good foreign practice," says Minister of Industry and Trade Lukáš Vlček.

Zbyněk Pokorný, Chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO of the State Investment and Development Company, also agrees. "From the very first meetings we have approached the representatives of Cheb as partners with whom we want to solve the process of preparing the areas together and listen to the requirements of both the city management and especially the local residents so that the project brings the most benefits to the city. The conclusion of the joint venture is therefore a logical step that will confirm the joint partnership and bring many benefits to Cheb, " adds Pokorný.

On Thursday, 14 November, representatives of the working group presented to the Minister of Industry and Trade, Lukáš Vlček, the current status of the studies under preparation and the main parameters of the planned project of supra-regional importance. All participants agreed that the only common goal is to get a high added value investor to Cheb, which will create a positive leverage effect.

"The city of Cheb sees this project as a great opportunity for further development of the city and the region. However, we will in no way allow the creation of further assembly plants and other facilities without the desired benefits for Cheb and its citizens. Our aim is to create, through the new business park, job offers with higher added value that will be attractive to qualified professionals. We see it very positively that thanks to the established working group, this project has become a priority also at the national level, which was confirmed by Minister Lukáš Vlček during the joint meeting, " said Michal Pospíšil, chairman of the task group for PP2 and deputy mayor of Cheb.

Thanks to the cooperation, Cheb will receive funding for sports facilities and culture

Thanks to the cooperation within the joint venture, the city will receive a guaranteed appreciation in time over and above the basic value of the land according to the expert's report, which can be used to finance subsequent development projects. It will thus receive money for example to support residential housing, to ensure security including crime prevention solutions or to develop cultural and sporting activities such as the reconstruction of the public swimming pool, the modernisation of the Lokomotiva sports complex and the ice rink, or the extension of the theatre.

"After the new year, we want to start working with feedback from local residents towards what the project could help address further in the city. In addition to the joint venture, the state is also offering opportunities to co-finance follow-up development projects through selected state subsidy programs, following the results of the impact study. Since the beginning of our cooperation with the city and the region, we have perceived that we cannot only address the preparation of the area itself, but also focus on how to improve the downstream environment," says David Petr, Director of Development and member of the Board of Directors of the State Investment and Development Company.

Cooperation within the joint venture will allow the city to decide on the typology of the end investor whose project will be placed in the Park. "Currently, there is a consensus among all parties on the interest in an investor from the mid-tech or high-tech sectors, such as investments in clean or autonomous mobility, semiconductor industry, production of electronic and optical equipment and technologies for healthcare. However, not only the readiness of the land, but also the availability of the workforce, educational and social services, housing and other factors influencing investors' decisions will be important," says Jan Michal, CEO of CzechInvest.