A new law on expropriations passed yesterday will give the Czech state the ability to
buy land it needs to build new transport infrastructure at prices set before zoning plans change. The amendment to the existing legislation specifies that land will not be evaluated as construction plots any more.
Land needed for a new section of the D1 highway between Řipkovice and Přerov is likely to be the first candidate for the employment of the new methodology. Ownership rights have not been resolved yet, and the spokesperson for the transport ministry, Martin Novák, says problems with land assembly could still crop up for this section of D1. The amendment changes the way expropriated land is evaluated. Up until today, a landowner was entitled to a minimum of CZK 420/sqm, but plots will now be appraised in a standard way. It’s expected that this should help to expedite the expropriation process and cut infrastructure costs.
