KPMG: Call under Real Estate programme extended

On 4 January, 2012, the Second Call for proposals under the Real Estate programme of the Operational Programme Enterprise and Innovations (OPEI) was prolonged. The Call is open to all enterprises irrespective of their size, and for projects implemented in the Czech Republic, outside the City of Prague. Entrepreneurs may apply for support for the following types of projects:

Zone preparation

Creating investment-ready areas/sites within the construction of a new industrial zone, or improving the quality or usability of areas/sites in an existing industrial zone. Eligible costs include costs incurred in connection with land preparation, demolition of disused structures, and the construction of technical and transportation infrastructure (engineering networks and special-purpose roads).

Facility renovation

Renovating a building as a business facility. Only where the renovation will facilitate more efficient use of the real estate will projects be supported. Eligible costs include, apart from those above, the costs of the renovation itself, and certain other types of costs.

Project/design documentation development

Creating project or design preparatory documentation for the above given projects. Recipients of support have to start the implementation of the project for which the documentation has been prepared within two years. Eligible costs include the costs of the construction project documentation and of an architectural tender.

The amount of the subsidy for each project is determined as a percentage of eligible project costs according to the applicable regional map (refer to: http://www.czechinvest.org/verejna-podpora), i.e. 30–40% depending on the region. The maximum subsidy per project is CZK 20 million (CZK 2 million for project documentation development projects). An entity (identified by ID No.) may only file one project.

The total allocation for this Call is CZK 1 billion.

Registration of applications is open from 1 March, 2012 to 30 April, 2012. The programme administrator reserves the right to close admission if the financial volume of registration applications filed exceeds twice the amount of funds allocated to the Call, without prior notice. It is therefore important to file the registration application as soon as the Call is open. Admission of full applications will start on 1 May, 2012.
More information is available at: http://www.czechinvest.org/nemovitosti-vyzva-ii-prodlouzeni

Other ways to benefit from EU support

Apart for the above, calls for proposals under the following programmes are planned for this year:

• Eco-energy (OPEI) – a call is planned for the first months of 2012. Supported activities for large enterprises are those aimed at increasing the efficiency of energy generation, transmission and consumption (energy savings).
• Potential (OPEI) – a call is planned for the spring of 2012. Under this programme, support is provided for the establishment or extension of development centres focused on research, development and innovation of products or technologies if it is expected that they will be used in production.
• EDUCA (OP HRE) – a call is currently being prepared for the first half of 2012. The programme focuses on specific education (providing qualifications that are not transferrable or are only transferrable to other enterprises and fields to a limited extent).

Václav Baňka, vbanka@kpmg.cz, tel.: +420 222 123 505
Eliška Brožová, ebrozova@kpmg.cz, tel.: +420 222 123 279

Source: KPMG Česká republika, s.r.o.; Financial Update, January 2012