ABSTRACT We have made the first attempt to derive the chemical properties of the Galactic disc at its very central part using high-resolution infrared spectroscopic observations of four classical Cepheids. These stars are located at Galactocentric distances smaller than 1 kpc. All investigated stars show near-to-solar elemental abundances. By combining these new data with our previous studies, our results suggest that the radial distribution of iron abundance on a logarithmic scale gradually increases from the outskirts of the Galactic disc to Galactocentric distances of about 2–4 kpc. There, it reaches a maximal value of about +0.4 dex, and then declines sharply to about the solar value at the Galactic Centre.