“Hlavni nadrazi is no longer the neglected station that it used to be – a grey box which passengers could not wait to get away from”. These are the words of Andrea Odoardi, CEO of Grandi Stazioni Ceska republika, the Czech de jure company, with an Italian spirit, which has renovated the Prague historical railway station, with an investment of more than a billion crowns. We met him the day after the official inauguration of the station, which took place on 14th April in the presence of President Giorgio Napolitano and President Vaclav Klaus
Mr. Odoardi, how do you assess your achieved results if we compare them with your initial objectives?
The distinctiveness of Grandi Stazioni is that it deals with large railway stations, with the aim of making them more pleasant, safer and able to provide passengers with a 360° service. This is exactly what we have done in Prague and the results speak for themselves.
How does the relationship between Prague and its station change after the redevelopment?
Our interventions are carried out on the assumption that a central station is at the heart of a town and forms an essential part of it. In this context, it is quite normal that an asset, such as a station, should dialogue with the town’s surroundings. Even our so-called merchandising mix is realized so as to attract the surrounding part of the town. In other words, for a citizen who lives near Hlavni nadrazi, it now makes sense to go there as a customer and utilize the various internal services provided. Our “expectation” is to give the Hlavni nadrazi a new life. Not only through commercial activities, but also through cultural ones, in line with the policies applied in our Italian stations, where various kinds of events are constantly taking place.
The Hlavni nadrazi station is geared towards becoming a sort of city salon, but is still surrounded by an area with high social deprivation.
The condition of the park, bordering the station, represents a real issue for the entire image of the area. The park itself requires considerable improvement, such as a night lighting system. Even if its redevelopment falls under the Municipality’s responsibility – and not that of Grandi Stazioni – it is clearly in our interest if the area were to be redeveloped. That is why we offered the Municipality in question a project for the entire redevelopment of the area, as a sign of cooperation, to resolve the issue.
How do you interpret the Municipality’s delay?
It is first of all a budget issue – the park, among other things, is larger than what it seems at first sight – but it is also a matter of political will. However, we are still optimistic and I believe that in 2011 there could be a change in policy. The station must not turn out to be an oasis, but we want our project to act as a driver, in order to achieve a broader urban rearrangement.
You have been working in the Czech Republic for seven years now. What is your assessment of this market?
Our project proves that in the Czech Republic there are resources and positive energies, processing capacities and first-rate technical skills. We have also found an excellent general contractor, such as Metrostav. I admit that when dealing with the public sector that foresees a certain amount of bureaucracy, you often need determination. However, we have to be honest, this state of things exists also in the West.
And when bureaucracy leads to malpractice? The Czech Republic is supposedly considered one of the most corrupt nations in Europe.
Malpractice is an endemic disease, which is normally present when large amounts of capital are moved around in such a short time, as has been the case in Eastern countries in the last few years. As far as Grandi Stazioni is concerned, I can say that we are able to bypass this problem. We manage public assets and – unlike private developers – we are in a position to take advantage of the fact that, creating problems to our projects, also means creating problems for the redevelopment of public property.
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Another decisive element is its particular shareholder structure. In Grandi Stazioni Ceska republika, 51% of shares belong to Grandi Stazioni S.p.A. (associated company with 60% Ferrovie dello Stato S.p.A), 39% the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (whose shareholders are western governments) and 10% Simest S.p.A. (practically, the Italian government). A company such as ours, interfaces with the public counterpart in an almost equal footing and not simply as a private company.
You have had to face the final rush of your redevelopment work during the worst moment of the crisis.
Yes, that’s true. Without false modesty, we have acquitted with honour. However, I also have to admit that we were well covered, because we have very solid shareholders. Even when the Czech banks blocked the lines of credit, we were always able to count on guaranteed cash flows. Ours was one of the few projects in the Czech Republic that was able to proceed without any hitches. Actually, the years of the crisis were those during which we invested more.
What about the economic crisis?
Even when there was a need to rent commercial spaces, a number of factors played in our favour. The railway station is a typical place where customers have to pass through and, as a consequence, you have a constant flow of customers. This is useful with a merchandising mix focused on medium purchasing power, being that one we have implemented for the Hlavni nadrazi station. Accurate was also our choice of focusing on brands that are adequate to local purchasing power – and this allowed us not to suffer the crisis so much. Most of the commercial spaces of the station are, practically, in operation.
Other factors to your advantage?
The strong point of a group such as ours is our network, that we are able to provide to any tenant. It is no surprise, therefore, to find the same brands present in a large number of our stations. The logic is the same, principles are similar and passengers have the same requirements wherever they may travel. As was the case with Prague, we also had as a travelling companion, Autogril, a multinational company, leader in the food and beverages within the transport sector.
It has also been said that you are interested in Masarykovo nadrazi, the other historical railway station in Prague.
It is a station with a number of interesting features for us, but for the moment Ceske drahy has already signed other contracts, which, at this point, do not allow us to start making any real assessments. However, we are ready. Should Czech Railways require it, they know that they can count on us as a proven trustworthy business partner.
How does your operation in the Czech Republic fit in with a wider strategy of internationalization of transport?
Railway transport in Europe is clearly heading towards market liberalization and, the introduction of new private players makes it huge business also for the future. All of this, together with the issue on trans-European high speed corridors, will be of great benefit also for our stations, as it will increase the number of passengers and above all, will increase their target. Travelling by train at high speed is already competing with air transport.
Do you consider Prague as your launching pad towards East Europe?
I would say so, given the success of our project. Right now, we are involved in intense negotiations with Polish Railways and clearly, our shareholders are keen on an expansion in European. We believe in it and we hope to conclude other long-term concession contracts soon.
By Luca Pandolfi e Giovanni Usai