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Little progress made at Berlin's new airport

Published: 23 Dec 12 10:53 CET | Print version
Online: http://www.thelocal.de/national/20121223-46949.html

A visit from experts from the federal Transportation Ministry to Berlin's delay-plagued new airport showed that next to nothing had been done since their last visit to the construction site in August, according to a report by the Bild am Sonntag.

“The overall impression was that in comparison to the last visit on August 31, 2012 only a small amount of activity in the terminal area had been done,” a protocol from the ministry that the paper obtained showed.

It said there were more security and supervisory personnel than actual workers on the site.

The new airport was supposed to have opened on June 3 of this year, but just weeks before that officials announced the airport was far from ready and it would have to be delayed.

It is now set to open in Oct. 2013, but if this and other recent reports are correct authorities appear to be running up against severe obstacles for even maintaining that date.

The report listed a number of serious construction problems at the airport including rain water entering the ventilation system at the airport's train station.

It also said the fire protection system at the train station has no connection to the fire alarm system at the airport. The wall coverings in the elevators are not fit with any fireproof studs and will have to be replaced. Escalators between the train station and the plaza building appear to be too short and will have to be extended.

The report also said that several thousand square meters are at this date only in the early shell construction phase.

Berlin’s Mayor Klaus Wowereit, who is also head of the airport's supervisory board, is no longer promising that the airport will open on Oct. 27, 2013 as now planned.

Apart from this, the paper wrote that tax payers are facing extra costs in the billions stemming from the delays.

The Local/mw

What do you think? Leave your comment below.


Your comments about this article:

12:00 December 23, 2012 by blackboot11
hahahahahahahahahahahaha..... thas all I can say here.
12:41 December 23, 2012 by Englishted
Is this down to austerity or just rubbish planning by the Germans as in so many of their big showcase building projects . Heads should roll but don't hold your breath.
12:59 December 23, 2012 by bobmarchiano
Its time to being People in from the USA to finish this airport
14:30 December 23, 2012 by rosebudnv
As a Canadian who admires Germany so much this is such a shock. What happened to the farsightedness, the organization, the minute planning, the determination, the drive to get things done and done correctlythat has been the hallmark of Germany????
16:17 December 23, 2012 by Berlin fuer alles
Should have got the job done in China like most of German products. Seriously though, this shows up the myth that German quality is supreme. Those days are over and cheap labour and materil is the fashion in Germany also.
16:59 December 23, 2012 by owlguard
The problem is not with the German people but with their leadership. There should be changes made at the top.
17:25 December 23, 2012 by raandy
Berlin the capitol City and no real airport. One must fly outside to go most places first. This is disgraceful and unconscionable , The whole process of how construction is accomplished in Germany needs an over haul.

Have you ever wondered why, when they dig up the street that days weeks and sometimes months go bye before the next sub contractor appears on site, That is because they rarely have a general contractor that schedules and pays all the subs.German efficiency is a myth.
17:43 December 23, 2012 by coffeelover
Seems like nobody in Germany is willing to step up to the plate and tackle this boondogle. In so doing, Germany is showing the world they are incompetent. I know there is no easy way out of this mess, but there has been enough time for SOMEONE to do SOMETHING besides pass the buck. If Germany can't find a strong person, or company to reverse this national embarassment, world opinion of German workmanship will fall, and deservedly so.
17:50 December 23, 2012 by Berlin fuer alles
@raandy

Totally agree with you. One only has to drive through Mitte to see how innefficient they are. The street between HaubtBahnhof and Nordbahnhof has been sectioned off for years now and no work has been done. A whole busy main street in the centre of Berlin out of service for years with no progress being made. It is a total disgrace and a very bad inconvenience on Berliners.
19:55 December 23, 2012 by fred1969
That's Berlin for you! They wanted the best airport, wanted to use the best construction materials but on the cheap...I land in Berlin every month at Schoenefeld airport, and it is VERY frustrating to see the new aiport terminal, all lit up with nothing happening, not a crane, not a worker on site. It looks finished, but is not apparently. I did read that no schematics of the existing cabling exist. That is a bit of an issue for any maintenance. Will the airport need to be re-wrired? Unbelievable!!
08:55 December 24, 2012 by Berlin fuer alles
@fred1969 Want the best but at the cheapest.

Isn't that Germans in general? Always looking for the most for the least. Never rent to a German and if you have a German neighbour keep a close eye on your property boundaries.
11:11 December 24, 2012 by blackboot11
after taking/spending all the money maybe they just realized that Berlin really doesn't need a fourth airport....
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