BUSINESS

Mezinárodní atletický mítink Zlatá tretra. Foto Jiří Zerzoň

Ostra Group Open tennis tournament

and many more are just a few examples.

However, I believe there is still room

for further growth, and I would like to

see progress become more visible. I am

pleased to announce that next year

the Hockey World Championship will

return to Ostrava hosting this event in

2015 and I invite everyone to join this

sporting event.

How do you think the city can bring new

people to Ostrava permanently?

Most importantly, we need to continue

to develop and offer quality education

combined with promising employment

opportunities.

I

must

commend

the work of the University of Ostrava

and the Technical University of Ostrava.

The city of Ostrava works closely

with the Universities and continues to

contribute to their projects. For example,

last year the University of Ostrava opened

a unique campus, and it was the city of

Ostrava who donated the land and also

supported it financially. The campus is

now able to link education with sport

and culture. Therefore, it serves not only

the students, but also the general public.

Our vision to bring people to Ostava can

be done by offering education, skilled

employment opportunities, culture, sport

and leisure activities. When people in

the Czech Republic find out that they can

find all this in Ostrava, we have won and

so do they.

Where does Ostava stand in respect to

daily life in the city being affected by

traffic?

I believe that our transportation company

provides the highest level of services,

not only within the Czech Republic but

also on a broader scale. This is achieved

by having a modern fleet of vehicles

combined with our ability to act as

a carrier of many innovations and provide

excellent service. In an attempt to prevent

cost increases and improve the efficiency

of our management, we also focus on cost

rationalisation.

Regarding transport infrastructure, we

have identified the need to complete

Místecká Street and the North Link to

relieve the traffic congestion on streets

Rudná and Opavská. We are currently

working on both key projects with several

smaller projects underway.

How does housing play a role when it

comes to deciding where to live?

Accessible housing plays an important

role when it comes to deciding where

to live, and that is why we have stopped

the existence of vacant lots in the city

and why we have implemented plans to

offer comfortable and affordable rental

housing. Some projects like the Střelniční

and Janáčkova apartment residences have

already been brought back to life. Other

projects like the Nové Lauby residence,

are under construction, while other

projects like the Stodolní Residence are in

the project stage.

In the future, I would like to see increased

participation of private investors. The city

should refrain from directly entering

the development market and instead

focus on creating favourable conditions

for private developers.

Mr. Mayor, thank you for the interview.

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