At a time when many real estate projects are being postponed indefinitely, a giant commercial project, called Prague Airport Park, will be built in the close vicinity of the Terminal South of the Prague Airport. It will be constructed on a 21-hectare property by the company AZA Trade, which is backed by Russian capital. The firm is planning to build three dozens of mainly office and logistic centres.
“The amount of investment is about EUR 300 million (over CZK 8 billion),” AZA Trade’s project manager Filip Tůma told E15. The investor believes there will be demand for new rental space after the airport expands. “Construction work should be launched in the third quarter of 2009. We expect to get a building permit for a network and communications by the end of the second quarter of 2009,” Tůma said.
In the first phase, two office buildings and a hotel with a congress centre will be built. Then the most extensive phase will start, comprising the construction of 21 buildings. Besides offices, the approved project will also include a science and technology centre of 14,000 square metres, a wellness facility, a car dealership, a casino, as well as a warehouse and production facilities. All mentioned buildings will be built on an area of almost 16 hectares owned by AZA Trade.
Another two phases will focus mainly on the building of logistic and production facilities. They should cover an area of five hectares which are owned by various owners, including Prague Airport and Prague City Hall. “We have been cooperating with the owners of the land during the overall preparation of the project. We still need to decide who will implement the third and fourth phases,” Tůma said.
According to the investor, it will not be a problem to find tenants or future owners for the buildings. “The proposed expansion of Prague Airport will create a demand for space among companies whose operation is connected with the airport,” AZA Trade says. At the same time, the firm is considering inviting other investors. “With respect to the diversity of the buildings, we have been negotiating with several partners,” Tůma said.
The company was also interested in building a terminal in Pardubice, but it backed out of negotiations. The weekly Týden wrote that a group of Chechen magnates Bazhaev involved in oil industry is behind AZA Trade. According to the business register Bazhaevs have a 15% share in AZA Trade while 70% belong to Harton Engineering from the Virgin Islands.
