Central Group to build 2,000 new flats in Prague districts

Czechia’s largest developer, Central Group, run by Dušan Kunovský, is restarting large-scale construction after a year-long pause. Over the coming months the company will launch nine projects in seven Prague districts — more than two thousand flats worth roughly CZK 17 billion in total, with the entire build financed from the company’s own funds, without bank loans.

At the end of last year Central Group put all new construction launches on hold, citing an overheated building market and sky-high prices for materials, which would otherwise have had to be passed on to buyers through flat prices. According to Kunovský, the situation is now returning to normal.

“Prices for construction supplies are no longer as insanely high as before. Over the past few months I personally met with the heads of ten of the biggest construction companies, and we found common ground. So now we can launch large-scale construction again,” says Kunovský.

In total there are nine projects across seven Prague locations. The most flats — around 900 — will be built in the “Park Quarter” in Žižkov, where the company will add three more city blocks. New projects will also start in Hloubětín, Vysočany, Uhříněves, Černý Most, Hlubočepy and Břevnov.

Central Group is offering construction firms more favourable terms: splitting the work into stages, faster payment, and an inflation clause in contracts. In return, the developer expects lower prices, which it intends to use to keep flat prices five to ten percent below the average level of the Prague market.

Over 33 years in business, Central Group has built more than 20,000 flats, with over a thousand more currently under construction. The company also owns land for more than 40,000 further flats across sixty locations throughout Prague. As always, it finances all construction and land purchases from its own resources, without borrowed funds.