If everything turns out as presented by the Minister of Transport Jozef Ráž and the Mayor of Bratislava Matúš Vallo, the capital can prepare for one of the biggest real estate "battles" in history.

The land in the winter harbour will be for sale. It will not be a classic land sale, interested parties may also be attracted because they will have a significantly easier way to their potential real estate projects.

The basis of the announced changes is the relocation of the cargo ship port from the Winter Port location to the Pálenisko location. The vacated space is to be transformed into a new urban district. Its construction is to be taken care of by developers who would buy land from the state.

The winter port is operated by the private company Slovenská plavba a prístavy, but the vast plots of land are owned by the state joint-stock company Verejné prístavy. According to the plan of the capital city and the Ministry of Transport, the territory will be ready for transformation in 2029. The process will start in December 2024. The Metropolitan Institute of Bratislava will develop a vision for the entire territory within fifteen months. Subsequently, a feasibility study should be created. 

After that, an international urban planning competition will be announced, which will determine the basic framework of what the territory will look like, what can grow in it and what it should offer to residents. The master plan should be changed by the end of 2029.

The Ministry of Transport also talks about the financial profit from the sale of land. Today we can only talk about estimates. "Plots must be sold at the highest possible price, and that will be achieved only after the master plan is changed," said Ráž, adding that the price can vary between €500 - 700 per sqm. The area of the entire Winter Harbor is around 600,000 sqm. The total amount for the sale of land can thus be counted in hundreds of millions of euros.