Troubled Berlin Brandenburg airport, due to open in June 2012, could be shut down in late summer unless €1.1 billion is raised
Berlin Brandenburg (BER) airport was intended to be a huge new airport for Berlin, so Berlin-Schönefeld and Tegel airports could close. The BER was initially due to open in June 2012. It had a catalogue of problems with fire safety, smoke extraction system, and fresh air supply in the event of fire. The launch has been delayed and delayed …. last year it was hoped it might open this year. Now the airport’s CEO has announced that it is possible the construction of the airport may need to be shut down this summer, if a further €1.1 billion cannot be raised. Some €4.3 billion has already been spent, but that only lasts till this summer. Extra costs have been incurred due to the late opening, as well as the extra construction costs. A decision on how €1.1 billion can be raised is needed urgently, perhaps through bank loans, government grants or from an investor. The money has to not only be agreed by Berlin, Brandenburg and the federal government, but also needs approval from the EU Commission. Current total costs amount to €5.4 billion. Additional plans suggest additional costs amounting to an extra €2.19 billion. Although the airport has yet to open, officials are planning a possible third runway for approximately €1 billion and other new projects such as an additional terminal, expanded baggage system and another freight facility. The total additional spending would amount to €3.2 billion.
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BER (Berlin Brandenburg airport) could be shut down in late summer!
12.3.2014 (Bild.de)
by Olaf Wederkind
CEO of BER airport, Hartmut Mehdorn (72) warns that the construction site at BER could be shut down in late summer – unless an additional €1.1 billion is approved by then
Berlin-Schönefeld – Next bad news for BER! Are there again delays to the capital’s planned airport? Or might the site even shut down completely this year?
On Friday, the Supervisory Board of the unfortunate airports comes together again. The most important point, according to Dorn More at this meeting: Safeguarding the financing of the gigantic project.
“The €4.3 billion range only until late summer. We now need a decision about whether it continues”, said Hartmut Mehdorn compared to the image. Otherwise the site would be shut down.
It is known that the BER has generated additional costs of €1.1 billion. These additional costs arising from the later opening, the increased construction costs and the extra sound insulation are, however, have still not been released, according to the BER boss. A decision on how these funds can be provided is needed urgently.
The Supervisory Board had approved the €1.1 billion last June. The airport owner of Berlin Brandenburg and the federal government have not yet decided how the money is to be obtained – through bank loans, government grants or from an investor.
Federal and state governments have been busy for months to redistribute the items in the Supervisory Board and the shareholders’ meeting.
For the injection of funds, agreement is needed not only from Berlin, Brandenburg and the federal government, but also approval from the EU Commission.
But even if the €1.1 billion can be mobilized, a total of €5.4 billion euros is only the “net cost”. Interest rates, the costs of financing, and the airport expansion costs are not included, Hartmut Mehdorn until Tuesday.
The Supervisory Board warned that the funds should be released for further construction. The acting chairman Rainer Bretschneider (SPD) told BILD: “. Everything will be fine” Threatened with a construction freeze? Bretschneider, “I don’t know the word.”
http://www.bild.de/regional/berlin/flughafen-berlin-brandenburg-international/koennte-im-sommer-stillgelegt-werden-40123674.bild.html
The original German is below:
BER könnte im Spätsommer stillgelegt werden!
12.3.2014
Noch-BER-Chef Hartmut Mehdorn (72) warnt, dass die Baustelle am BER im Spätsommer stillgelegt werden könnte – wenn bis dahin nicht zusätzlich 1,1 Milliarden Euro bewilligt werden
VON OLAF WEDEKIND
Berlin-Schönefeld – Nächste Hiobsbotschaft zum BER! Kommt es nochmal zu Verzögerungen beim geplanten Hauptstadtflughafen? Oder wird die Baustelle in diesem Jahr sogar komplett stillgelegt? Davor warnt jetzt Noch-Flughafenchef Hartmut Mehdorn (72).
Am Freitag kommt der Aufsichtsrat des Pannen-Airports wieder zusammen. Wichtigster Punkt laut Mehrdorn bei diesem Treffen: Die Sicherung der Finanzierung des Mammut-Projektes.
„Die 4,3 Milliarden reichen nur noch bis zum Spätsommer. Wir brauchen jetzt eine Entscheidung wie es weitergeht“, sagte Hartmut Mehdorn gegenüber der BILD. Andernfalls müsste die Baustelle stillgelegt werden.
Es ist bekannt, dass der BER Mehrkosten von 1,1 Milliarden Euro verursacht. Diese Mehrkosten, die sich aus der späteren Eröffnung, den gestiegenen Baukosten und dem zusätzlichen Schallschutz ergeben, seien nach wie vor aber nicht freigegeben, so der BER-Chef. Man bräuchte jetzt dringend eine Entscheidung, wie diese Mittel finanziert werden.
Der Aufsichtsrat hatte die 1,1 Milliarden Euro im vergangenen Juni beschlossen. Die Flughafen-Eigentümer Berlin, Brandenburg und der Bund haben aber noch nicht beschlossen, wie das Geld beschafft werden soll – etwa durch Bankkredite, Zuschüsse der öffentlichen Hand oder den Einstieg eines Investors. Bund und Länder sind seit Monaten damit beschäftigt, die Posten in Aufsichtsrat und Gesellschafterversammlung neu zu verteilen. Für die Finanzspritze ist nicht nur die Einigung von Berlin, Brandenburg und dem Bund nötig, sondern auch die Zustimmung der EU-Kommission.
Aber: Selbst wenn die 1,1 Milliarden bewilligt werden, sind mit den insgesamt 5,4 Milliarden Euro nur die „Nettokosten“ gedeckt. In der aktuellen Milliarden-Summe seien weder die Zinsen, der Finanzierungsaufwand noch die Flughafenerweiterung enthalten, sagte Hartmut Mehdorn erst am Dienstag.
Der Aufsichtsrat sagte zu der Warnung Mehrdorns, dass die Gelder für den Weiterbau freigegeben werden sollen. Der amtierende Vorsitzende Rainer Bretschneider (SPD) zu BILD: „Alles wird gut.“ Droht denn ein Baustopp? Bretschneider: „Kenne das Wort nicht.“
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Earlier:
Berlin’s Schönefeld airport ‘to stay open’ as Brandenburg airport (at huge expense) not ready till 2015 at the earliest
Berlin’s old Schönefeld airport is likely to remain open as a destination for budget airlines despite a multi-billion airport being built next to it, at Berlin Brandenburg (BER), as the new international hub is too small. It is the latest in a long line of setbacks to hit the BER, which is over budget and behind time. It will have two runways. It is expected to open in 2015 at the earliest. Officially the cost of the airport is €4.3 billion, though initial cost estimates were €1.2 and it could cost up to €6 billion. Despite the huge cost, the airport will only have a capacity of 27 million passengers a year, so its ageing neighbour, Schönefeld, will need to stay open. The original plan had been for Schönefeld, which caters for budget airlines, to merge with BER. Keeping Schönefeld in operation would increase capacity by 7.5 million passengers a year and avoid further costs of building a new terminal. Earlier it had been expected that BER could be partly in use in 2014, with 10 planes per day, but that will not happen. The airport was initially intended to open in 2010 but the multiple delays have been due to difficulties concerning fire safety, the smoke exhaust systems and construction errors. Air Berlin is suing BER for damages due to the much delayed opening.
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Berlin airport’s 2014 opening cancelled again
8 Jan 2014 (The Local – Germany’s news in English)
Berlin’s much-delayed international airport will not open this year, the city’s mayor said on Tuesday, dispelling hopes the troubled venture could at least partially begin flights in 2014.
“It will, de facto, be such that the airport no longer can be opened in 2014,” mayor Klaus Wowereit said who is also head of the airport’s supervisory board.
Airport chief Hartmut Mehdorn had hoped for part of BER airport’s infrastructure to be in use in March this year, with the aim of allowing the arrival and departure of 10 planes a day.
But Wowereit’s announcement on Tuesday has dispelled those hopes and added another embarrassing chapter to the airport’s short but troubled history.
Berlin Brandenburg Airport was set for a fanfare opening in June 2012 with posters dotted around the capital announcing the opening date, and international airlines including it in their schedules.
But multiple delays due to difficulties concerning fire safety, the smoke exhaust systems and construction errors have proven a blow to the capital’s image.
As one of Germany’s biggest construction projects, it has also dented Wowereit’s popularity amid claims of incompetence and having underestimated the problems linked to the plan.
Initial cost estimates of €1.2 billion have long been ditched, and the latest estimate for the project is now around €6 billion.
The new airport is designed to cater for air passengers currently using Berlin’s two other airports, Schönefeld and Tegel.
READ MORE: Berlin airport ‘needs another €1.1 billion’
http://www.thelocal.de/20140108/berlin-airport-wont-open-this-year
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and there is older news about the airport here
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The earliest story is:
Further fire safety problems at Berlin Brandenburg Airport mean it cannot open in October, so delayed till unknown date in 2014
January 8, 2013
Berlin’s Brandenburg airport was initially due to open in June 2012. It has problems with fire safety, smoke extraction system, and fresh air supply in the event of fire. Therefore the opening was put off till October 2013. It has now been announced that the airport will now open on an unknown date in 2014. Based on the previous timetable, construction work was due to be completed by May 2013 to allow a 5-month period for trial operations before the official opening. There may be other technical problems as well, such as on baggage handling. When completed, the airport will take over from the ageing Tegel and Schoenefeld airports. It is expected to be able to eventually handle up to 27 million passengers a year, but this figure has been reduced from the initial figure of 45 million. The cost of the project has risen, from an estimated £1.6 billion to more than £3.2 billion and the latest delays are likely to increase the costs further. A growing chorus of critics is calling for the city’s mayor, Klaus Wowereit, to step down over the matter.
Click here to view full story…
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Wikipedia says of Berlin Brandenburg airport:
Berlin Brandenburg Airport (IATA: BER, ICAO: EDDB) (German: Flughafen Berlin Brandenburg Willy Brandt) is an international airport under construction, located adjacent to the current Berlin Schönefeld Airport in Schönefeld 18 kilometres (11 mi) south of the city centre of Berlin, the capital of Germany. It is intended to replace both Schönefeld and Berlin Tegel Airport, and to become the single commercial airport serving Berlin and the surrounding state of Brandenburg, an area with a combined 6 million inhabitants. With a projected annual passenger number of around 27 million,[1] Berlin Brandenburg Airport would become the third busiest airport in Germany, superseding Düsseldorf Airport, and one of the fifteen busiest in Europe.
Air Berlin, Germanwings and easyJet are expected to become the leading carriers at Berlin Brandenburg Airport, having announced the intent to relocate and keep their hub / base operations there which they currently maintain at Tegel and Schönefeld airports today.
Originally planned to open in 2010, Berlin Brandenburg Airport has encountered a series of delays due to poor construction planning, management, execution and corruption.[2][3][4] Unfinished construction and corrective work means an opening prior to late 2016 is unlikely.[5] Remarks made in August 2014, by airport CEO Hartmut Mehdorn, point toward 2017 or 2018.[6] Mehdorn announced no opening date as expected 14 October 2014, so a special commission established by the Brandenburg Parliament will retain oversight of the project.[7][8][9] Current estimates suggest that the airport will open in 2018 or 2019, at the latest.[10][11][12][13][14]
Citing dissatisfaction with construction progress, members of the airport board indicated during their 8 December 2014 meeting that they were beginning the search for a new CEO, although Mehdorn’s contract runs through 2016.[15] One week later, Mehdorn announced he would resign his position as soon as the board names a successor, but no later than June 2015.[16][17]
Current total costs amount to €5.4 billion.[18] Additional plans suggest additional costs amounting to an extra €2.19 billion. Although the airport has yet to open, officials are planning a possible third runway for approximately €1 billion and other new projects such as an additional terminal, expanded baggage system and another freight facility. The total additional spending would amount to €3.2 billion.[19] The board warned of a further rise in costs because the airport will not open before 2017. The current time-cost frame is limited to 2016 though.[20]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_Brandenburg_Airport
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