The Czech government showed up on the construction site of Sekyra Group’s Prague 5 project Smichov City, where the Czech Railways Authority (SSŽ) and the Motorways Authority (ŘSD) are supposed to have their new headquarters. The project is already intended to serve as a transportation hub, which will connect international trains to Prague’s metro, tram, and bus network, could also become an transportation expertise hub. But there’s now talks of moving the Ministry of Transportation from its historic and gloriously inefficient neoclassic building along the Vltava river in Prague 1 to Smichov City. On the face of it, the idea goes against the vision of Prime Minister Andrej Babiš whose fixation on building a new government quarter for multiple ministries on the edge of Prague in Letňany has led to conflict with the city’s mayor. But with key state transport institutions like SSŽ and ŘSD already heading to Smíchov, forcing the Transport Ministry to the periphery would be an odd decision. Even Babiš seems to understand this. “I like it, there would be a huge synergy,” he said. “Everything would be in one place, in several pavilions, mutually connected,” said Transport Minister Karel Havlíček. “An actual transportation for the Czech Republic would be created in a location that has excellent accessibility.”
