The capital city will manage revenues and expenditures of CZK 92.6 billion next year, which is up year-on-year. Approximately 19.68 billion will be spent on investments. More than four billion will be spent on the construction of Metro D. The draft budget was approved by Prague councilors on Thursday.
The majority of the spending is current, amounting to CZK 70.92 billion, with most of the money earmarked for transport and education.
Most of the money in capital expenditure is earmarked for transport, about 8.3 billion, and one of the most critical items in constructing the D metro from Pankrác to Písnice.
In urban infrastructure, the city administration plans to invest in renewing water and sewage systems or bridge repairs. Furthermore, 750 million will be spent on the renovation of the Industrial Palace at the Exhibition Grounds.
In the education sector, CZK 686 million will be spent on school building extensions and reconstruction, and another CZK 120 million on the construction of a new primary school in Šeberov.
During the debate, the opposition criticized that Prague residents are concerned about entirely different issues than those identified as priorities in the budget. Criticism was directed, for example, at the state of disrepair of the Libeň Bridge, the repair of which is not envisaged in the budget.
At the end of last year, the city council approved this year’s budget with CZK 79.1 billion in revenues and CZK 89.15 billion in expenditures. During the year, revenues increased to about 86.24 billion and expenditures to 101.62 billion as of June 30.
In 2020, the capital as a whole managed a surplus of CZK 8.9 billion, down by about CZK 5.8 billion year-on-year.