The need to lay engineering networks in public underground areas appeared first in connection with providing solutions for city energy supply in areas with a high concentration of built-up area and where the typical above-ground laying of engineering networks took a great amount of space or, in many cases, required the use of expensive properties. At the same time, the construction, operation, maintenance, repair and reconstruction of such networks was expensive and time-consuming. In addition to the time needed for repair and reconstruction, one must not overlook both the considerable influence of such construction on the life environment and the impact of construction works upon the continuity of energy supply to city-dwellers. While building above-ground engineering networks, great damage occurred to communications and supply and there was a considerable negative impact on the life environment.

The idea to place engineering networks in collectors is not new to Europe: A collector network was built and subsequently operated in London in the years 1863 to 1904, in Zurich in 1920 and in 1928-9 in Berlin.

Systematic collectorization of Prague began at the end of 1968 with a report for the construction and operation of collectors by the budgetary organization Technická správa komunikací (Technical Administration of Communication).

The first collector in the City of Prague began to be operated in 1969. 128 metres in length, the collector was built as part of the reconstruction of Chotková road. Severní Město – Ďáblice was the first locality in the complex collectorization project. The construction of collectors continued in the 1970s and 1980s in Jižní Město, Modřany- Komořany, Horní Měcholupy – Petrovice, Černý Most, Barrandov, Radotín-Berounka, Řepy and others. In each case, the collector network were built deep underground. With certain exceptions, collectors are currently not being built in outlying areas.

Most demanding for builders are the tunneled collectors located in the city centre, where the depth of individual tunnels ranges from 5 to 35 metres. Certain collectors have a circumference greater than that of a subway tunnel. The following collectors are in operation in the centre of Prague: C1 (from I.P. Pavlova square to Senovážné square with a branch to Anenské squareí), C1 A (between Příkope and Smetana theatre), Rudolfinum, Nová Radnice, Celetná, Václavské (Wenceslas) square, Žižkov, Ludvík Svoboda street and Tyl theatre. Collector C1A – Vodičkova, connecting Václavské square and Karlovo square, has been completed most recently.

Collectors were built not only in Prague, but also in several other notable Czech towns, including Plzeň, Most, Karlovy Vary, Jihlava, Ústí nad Labem, Brno and Ostrava. These collectors were purpose-built constructions and were for the most part small in size. Perhaps with the exception of Brno, such collector construction does not have a conceptual character as a part of overall city planning, quality monitoring systém or technical safety for collectors or the engineering networks located within.