České dráhy to Launch a Competitive Dialogue for New Modern Corporate Headquarters

These days, České dráhy has started a competitive dialogue for the new headquarters of the ČD Group in Prague. The aim of this activity is to find the most efficient and the most advantageous solution to the current situation where the administrative and operational staff of České dráhy and its subsidiaries are dispersed in different buildings all over Prague. The participants in the competitive dialogue can offer České dráhy satisfactory existing administrative centres, as well as the construction of a new building on the plots of land owned by ČD or other entities. The new building should offer modern premises for almost 1,400 employees.

“We want to modernise our entire company and I consider it necessary to move to premises which are fit for this modern era. The historical building on the Ludvíka Svobody embankment, where the General Directorate of ČD is now situated, is dark, not environment-friendly, not close to the railway, and for reasons of heritage protection it is not possible to make any major structural interventions there. Modern headquarters will help us to attract young employees and to create a working environment appropriate for the 21st century, as well as to get rid of many lease agreements and surplus property. We will save tens of millions of Czech crowns a year on operational activities alone,” says Michal Krapinec, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Director General of České dráhy.

A competitive dialogue was chosen as the form of the selection procedure to ensure the widest and most transparent selection process. Within the framework of the competitive dialogue, it is possible to expect bids for the existing buildings, land owned by third parties with a project design for the construction of the new headquarters or project designs for new buildings on the plot(s) of land owned by České dráhy. The aim is to relocate administrative and operational staff from all over Prague to one site. “Within the framework of this activity, three suitable plots of land were identified in Prague, located near three main railway junctions – the Main railway station, Libeň railway station and Holešovice railway station,” adds Michal Krapinec.

The new headquarters should provide comfortable premises for nearly 1,400 employees. The entire gross floor area of the building will be approximately 18,100 m2, of which 13,164 m2 will be intended for offices. The site will include also an adequate number of parking places. “We also place great emphasis on the environmental friendliness of the building. We want the building to include, for example, areas with an appropriate proportion of greenery and vegetation areas, rainwater management facilities and photovoltaic power plants on the roof,” adds Mr. Krapinec, emphasising the environment-friendly features of the building. The premises will meet the standards of the 21st century, will be air-conditioned and equipped with modern communication electronics, thus expanding the possibilities of distance meetings.

The proceedings were initiated by sending a form of the notice of initiation of the tender procedure for publication in the Official Journal of the European Union. The current timetable foresees that individual bids from tenderers will be received until approximately June, from which a shortlist of three bids will be selected. Subsequently, the criteria of the tender documentation will be clarified and a cost-benefit study will be drawn up. It is possible to expect that at the end of this year or at the beginning of next year, the results of the competitive dialogue will be submitted to the Board of Directors, the Supervisory Board and the Steering Committee of ČD for approval, followed by the announcement of the results of the competitive dialogue and by the signing of the contract with the winner.

The General Directorate of České dráhy is currently based in a lease in the historical building of the Ministry of Transport of the Czech Republic, which is situated on Ludvíka Svobody Embankment in Prague and was built in the 1930s. However, due to its capacity constraints, ČD Group employees are also based in other buildings throughout Prague, which complicates the entire operation of the ČD Group.