Panattoni has just completed its logistics centre in Kojetín and handed it over to multinational e-commerce company Amazon for use. It is the first fully-fledged multi-storey distribution centre in the Czech Republic and is currently the most modern logistics hall in the country thanks to its equipment and environmentally friendly approach as well as its high energy self-sufficiency. The value of the building is more than CZK 5 billion (over € 202 million). The project was financed by Accolade.
The distribution centre in Kojetin is unique not only in its size but above all in the substantial savings in the built-up area it offers. While the total area of the hall exceeds 187,000 sqm, the floor space occupies less than a third, i.e. only 51,000 sqm. The height of the building exceeds 27 metres where the stair shafts lead. "I am really proud that today we can hand over to Amazon a building that is an absolute leader in terms of combining modern technology and environmental friendliness. The Dobrovíz project was already unique in these areas, but with the distribution centre in Kojetin we have once again moved on several generations. I believe that the state-of-the-art logistics facility will help Amazon to further expand in the e-commerce sector, which has literally boomed in recent years. At the same time, I hope that the project will be beneficial for the entire region thanks to a large number of job opportunities," said Pavel Sovička, Panattoni's CEO for the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
"I am looking forward to Amazon offering a modern working environment in the new robotics centre, where employees will be facilitated by special robotic units. When the building is fully operational, we will employ up to 2,000 permanent workers here," said Michal Šmíd, Amazon's general manager for the Czech Republic.
Former sugar factory and ecological trains instead of trucks
The new distribution hall was built on the site of the former sugar factory's settling tanks. Reinforced concrete recyclates from its demolition were used to fill the surrounding hardening areas. The entire brownfield had to be remediated and the environmental burdens removed before construction could begin. The actual construction of the four-storey building was in many ways specific and challenging in terms of coordination of the construction work and the companies on site. At any one time, there were around a thousand people on site. By comparison, for single-storey buildings, the standard number of people is around 150. The logistics hall meets stringent environmental requirements and aspires to an extremely high BREEAM New Construction environmental certification rating of Excellent.
Due to its proximity to the rail site, it was possible to transport approximately 6,800 panels weighing more than 80,000 tonnes to the site by environmentally friendly train directly from the concrete factory. The trains replaced over 2,200 trucks that would have been needed to transport these panels. The distance from which the building materials are imported is one of the many criteria assessed during BREEAM certification.
The emphasis on ecology and sustainability is also evident in other aspects. For example, a lizard farm and bee hives are planned for the site. Of course, 500 trees will also be planted, 300 of them on site and the rest in Kojetin. The entire distribution centre will be heated by heat pumps instead of gas. "We are also concerned that the operation is environmentally friendly, which is why we have installed modern 4 MW photovoltaic panels on the roof. This exceeds conventional domestic installations by three orders of magnitude," concluded Michal Šmíd for Amazon.
