Construction of strategically important infrastructure will be accelerated
The Chamber of Deputies approved an amendment to the law, which aims to accelerate the realization of a broader range of interventions than hitherto. For strategically important investments in energy and transport, the law intends to set binding deadlines of four years for the completion of all administrative procedures. The changes proposed by the legislature should also lighten the bureaucracy and thus speed up the authorization processes for strategic investments, allowing for a real reboot of the Czech economy. Furthermore, the Chamber of Commerce and other business organizations will strive to further simplify the legislation authorizing strategic investments in other sectors as well, so that a predictable and motivating environment for business investments is created in the Czech Republic.
The acceleration of infrastructure, transport, water, and energy construction will now be examined by the senators and the president. Should their scrutiny be successful, the law amendment will enter into force on 1 January 2024.
The main changes
The aim of this maneuver is to exploit the Czech Republic’s geographical location and economic potential in order to position itself among the most developed countries.
Here is an overview of the planned measures:
- Transport: complete the basic motorway network and accelerate the construction of high-speed railways and other key transport facilities,
- Energy: support for the construction and completion of nuclear blocks, with the possibility of financing through the so-called ‘Contract for Difference’ scheme, already approved by the European Commission for the construction of nuclear power plants in the UK. Furthermore, it is intended to promote the development of small modular reactors and to increase the use of European funds for investments in renewable energy sources,
- Extraction of mineral resources and raw materials: the objective is to ensure a sufficient amount of raw materials, both for highways and railways (gravel, sand, and others) and for transport and energy sources for battery storage. The amendment to the law also proposes simpler rules for permitting mining and the power of the state to determine which deposits of these critical raw materials are strategic for the Czech Republic,
- Modern industry: faster permits for the industrial production of strategically important modern technologies such as car battery production, chip production, processing of secondary raw materials, recycled materials, robotics production, hydrogen production, and processing or data centers,
- Clean mobility: acceleration of the preparation of charging and refueling infrastructure in the clean energy sector while creating space for the development of alternative modes of transport (electricity, hydrogen, LNG).
Source: https://www.mpo.cz/
Source of image: https://italiapragaoneway.eu/; https://www.praga.info/
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