Berlin’s long-delayed (it was supposed to open in 2008) new airport will now have a new delay: work was stopped today when it was determined that the terminal roof may not be strong enough to support the air-conditioning units that have recently been installed.
The airport, called Berlin-Brandenburg-Willy Brandt, is intended to replace Berlin’s crowded and outdated Tegel, the old East German Sonnenfeld, and the now-closed Tempelhof. It now appears that the current target date, early 2017, can’t be met because of the new stoppage.
Previous troubles included redesign of a ventilation system that could have filled the terminal with smoke, substandard materials and most recently a corruption scandal involving contractors and local politicians. As well, the company with the contract for the interior fittings has gone into bankruptcy.
Germans, with a national reputation for efficiency and accuracy, are split between amusement and embarrassment.
It’s hugely embarrassing to my German friends, and a farce of incompetence. What kind of architects and engineers are designing this place????? Correspondence school graduates?
Perhaps the should just bull-doze the place and start over again. Might be quicker that way.