These days Prague has taken a significant step towards building a non-traditional infrastructure for emergency services. The City Council has approved the intention to implement the public contract Floating Heliport Prague - Vyšehrad, which should significantly improve the availability of air ambulance services in the centre of the metropolis.
Temporary but essential solution
The floating heliport will be located on the Vltava River at the right bank in the Rašínovo nábřeží area (river kilometre 55.49). According to documents from the municipality, this is a temporary solution until the final heliport is built on the roof of the new pavilion of the General University Hospital in Prague.
The heliport is to be used primarily for landing helicopters of the Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) for transporting patients to the General University Hospital and the Institute for Mother and Child Care in Podolí. However, the equipment will also be useful in the event of emergency situations requiring the deployment of specialised emergency services - be it mass disasters with a large number of injured people or security incidents.
Technical specifications and demanding requirements
From a technical point of view, it will be a floating device measuring 20 x 20 metres, which will be tied to the three existing tie-ins on the quay wall and connected to the bank by a footbridge. The structure will be composed of several unsinkable floats, with the central 10 x 10 metre section to be one piece or two fully connected pieces.
"This is a very atypical project subject to specific parameters and rules. There are no similar projects of this complexity and difficulty available in the Czech Republic," the documentation states.
The project has to meet the strict requirements of the Aviation Heliports Regulation L14H of the Ministry of Transport, the Civil Aviation Authority, the Transport and Energy Construction Authority, the State Navigation Administration and the Vltava River Basin Authority.
The entire structure must be designed so that it can be dismantled and transported along the Vltava or Elbe waterway. For stable use of the helideck, a maximum weight of 9 tonnes is envisaged.
Financial page and schedule
The estimated value of the contract is CZK 39.7 million without VAT (CZK 48.037 million with VAT). Financing will be provided from the budget of the capital city, from the chapter of health and social area.
The public contract will be awarded as an above-the-limit supply contract under a negotiated procedure with publication. The tenders will be evaluated on the basis of the economic advantage of the tender evaluated on the basis of the lowest tender price.
The tendering procedure is expected to start in May 2025 and to end in July of the same year. The actual implementation should take approximately five months.
Prague citizens can look forward to another interesting element on the Vltava River surface, which, although it will not serve the general public directly, can significantly contribute to saving human lives.