The Danube-Odra-Labe project has ended, new possibilities have opened up for cities to build on blocked land

Cities and municipalities along the Morava River can now use land that was blocked for many years for the construction of the Danube-Odra-Labe canal. Since March 2024, the protection of the canal route has disappeared from the national plans governing the use of land – that is, the updated spatial development policy of the Czech Republic.

Mayors, private owners, but also regional representatives welcome this change, which was confirmed by deputy governor Radek Doležel from the ANO movement. According to him, it will significantly facilitate the construction of roads and bridges, for example. Thanks to the lifting of the blockade, the construction process will become simpler, faster, cheaper and will enable the creation of projects that would otherwise not be possible, for example the bridging of the Morava River in front of the Uhersko-Hradiště district of Jarošov.

The cancellation of plans for the construction of the canal is also welcomed by the Old Town. Here, because of the congested traffic, they are planning to build a new bridge between the Old Town and Uherský Hradiště. A new zoning plan should apply in the Old Town from the summer, and the originally blocked land could be used by the city for recreation in addition to the bridge.

In Otrokovice, they are happy that a large port for cargo ships will not be built there, which was expected in the case of the construction of the connection between the Danube and the Odra.

The land for the canal, which was supposed to connect the Danube, Oder and Elbe rivers, has been blocked since 2010. The government decided to end the project at the beginning of 2023.

Leona Nevařilová, editor of Czech Radio Zlín, summarized the current situation in a post.