The State as a Developer Czechia Offers Investors More Than Just a Plot of Land
Rather than simply selling land, the state offers investors a partner capable of preparing an entire site and bringing together central government, local authorities and infrastructure into a single viable project. Zbyněk Pokorný, CEO of the State Investment and Development Company (SIRS), discusses what the company is bringing to this year’s EXPO REAL trade fair in Munich, which locations it can offer and why Czechia does not want to compete on labour costs alone.
What exactly are you bringing to EXPO REAL? Are these available sites and projects? What makes them competitive on a European scale?
We are not coming to Munich with just a map of available plots, but with a portfolio of vetted locations and, above all, an offer of partnership with a state developer. Our role is to take on part of the preparation risk, coordinate public institutions and local authorities, and bring sites to a stage where an investor can implement their project more quickly and with a significantly higher degree of certainty. The main investment opportunity currently open is the Lazy Strategic Business Park in the Karviná region. It is a brownfield site of a former deep coal mine and therefore connects the region’s industrial tradition with its genuine transformation. Thanks to its excellent transport links and utility capacity, it is aimed primarily at technologically demanding high–tech and mid–tech manufacturing. We expect production there could potentially begin after 2030. As proof that this model works, we will present Cheb, where we succeeded in attracting Daimler Truck, with production expected to begin by 2030. The combination of the location, coordinated preparation by the state and the city, and the ability to adapt the site to the investor’s requirements demonstrates what can make the Czech offer competitive at European level. Our competitive advantage therefore lies not only in the site itself. It comes from the combination of scale, available infrastructure, a skilled workforce, links to research and education, a sustainable concept, and a single partner capable of keeping the entire preparation process coordinated, from the initial assessment through to handing the site over to the investor.
An investor comes to you – what can you actually offer them today?
We offer investors a comprehensive service, not merely contact details for a landowner. This ranges from identifying and assessing a suitable site, through consolidating property ownership, to securing all the necessary permits and infrastructure. In cooperation with CzechInvest, we also connect investors with the supplier, research and education ecosystem. We do not offer ways around the rules or automatic approval of a project. We do, however, work proactively. Addressing spatial planning, EIA and project preparation at an early stage alone can shorten the timetable by two to three years. I have already mentioned the specific locations above, but the Dolní Lutyně area is also worth highlighting. It has completed pre–project preparation and a feasibility study, a project company has been established, and the legal arrangements concerning land ownership have been significantly strengthened. However, it would not be accurate to describe it as a fully prepared development site. It is a strategic reserve prepared in such a way that, once a suitable investor is found, the physical preparation of the site can begin quickly.
What type of investors are you actively looking for in Munich?
We are targeting strategic end investors who will bring not only capital, but also technology, research, skilled jobs and a new supplier ecosystem. We are not looking for more land–intensive logistics operations or manufacturing based on cheap labour. We are interested in the industries of the future: advanced and clean mobility, semiconductors and electronics, battery and energy systems, robotics, renewable energy and medical technologies. More remote locations may also offer suitable opportunities for the defence industry.
What can the Czech Republic offer investors that other Central European countries cannot, and where, by contrast, do we fall short?
The Czech Republic lies at the heart of the European market and has an exceptionally strong industrial tradition, well–established supply chains, high–quality technical education and the ability to integrate new projects quickly into its existing manufacturing and research base. We do not want to compete solely on labour costs or the level of investment incentives. Our ambition is to offer a combination of quality, location, know–how and a stable long–term business environment. And SIRS, as a state developer, represents a new competitive advantage for Czechia. At the same time, it is fair to acknowledge that neighbouring countries have had a head start in the systematic preparation of large investment zones, and we need to catch up in terms of site readiness and the speed of permitting. These are precisely the barriers we are now working systematically to remove. If we succeed in completing this transformation, Czechia will compete not only on its favourable geographical location, but also on the speed and predictability of project delivery.
One of SIRS’s tasks is to transform large or complex sites into locations ready for new investment. What is the most difficult part of this process today?
The greatest challenge is coordinating dozens of interdependent steps and often conflicting needs at the same time – including the classic NIMBY phenomenon. If even a single critical element is delayed, the entire project can be held up. Another challenge is preparing a site for an investor whose exact requirements we do not yet know. The site must be sufficiently versatile and have enough capacity to accommodate technologically demanding projects, while at the same time we must avoid investing prematurely in solutions that a future investor may not use. That is why we work with a milestonebased system: at each stage, we reassess the risks, costs and future direction of the project, and only then release further funding. Social acceptance is equally important to us. A strategic investment cannot succeed in an environment that rejects it. We therefore engage openly with municipalities and local residents from the outset and consider each project in the context of the entire surrounding area.