While the Czech state owns numerous buildings around Prague, many of which have significant levels of vacancy, many government ministries are leasing space around the city. The Supreme Control Office (NKÚ) discovered that the Czech state has invested CZK 254m in the Central Register of Office Buildings which ministry staff doesn’t even use, writes the weekly Týden. The NKÚ claims, however, that the data in the register is not complete or reliable.
The control office found that the ministries own 161,000 sqm of office space in Prague, of which only 150,000 sqm is used by the state or subleased to other tenants. Government ministries are currently leasing 31,000 sqm at other properties. The Finance Ministry, for example, rents space at Politických věznů for CZK 1,700/sqm/year, while the Ministry of Education pays CZK 6,000/sqm/year in Karlín-Prague 8. It rents 5,500 sqm of space, which amounts to CZK 38.5m a year.
