State to spend billions on combatting drought

The Czech Republic is planning to spend billions in the coming decades on fighting drought. Speaking on Tuesday after a meeting of the National Coalition to Combat Drought, Prime Minister Andrej Babiš said CZK 24 billion would be invested into connecting different water supply systems. The state will also spend CZK 6 billion on renewing mains pipelines.

The minister of the environment, Richard Brabec, said further money could be drawn from EU funds and that a total of around CZK 50 billion would be invested.

Mr. Babiš said the prognosis was not good and this year could be the sixth in succession in which the country experiences drought. He said solving water shortages was the most pressing challenge facing his government.

Author: Ian Willoughby