The construction of the new Berlin airport is at risk of delays

Berlin - The opening of a new giant airport on the southern edge of Berlin could be delayed by up to a year. According to German newspapers, the cause is the insolvency of one of the companies responsible for the construction. Officially, the originally set deadline for commissioning at the end of October 2011 still stands, but the leadership of the German capital has already admitted that it may not be achieved. If the worst-case scenario materializes and the airport starts operating only in the fall of 2012, this project could become more expensive by an estimated 75 to 100 million euros (approximately 1.9 to 2.6 billion CZK).
    The construction, named Berlin Brandenburg International (BBI), is being built for approximately 2.5 billion euros (about 64 billion CZK) by expanding the existing Schönefeld airport in Berlin. Once completed, it will also replace the second Berlin airport, Tegel, and is expected to handle at least 27 million passengers annually. It will carry the name of former West Berlin mayor and German chancellor Willy Brandt.
    However, there are now questions surrounding the completion date. "We have received a warning from project management that delays are imminent," confirmed airport chief Rainer Schwarz. Berlin's mayor Klaus Wowereit, who also heads the supervisory board of the airport company, claimed just a month ago that adhering to the planned commissioning would not be a problem. Now, according to the DPA agency, he has admitted that it could be postponed by several months. The supervisory board will discuss solutions on June 25.
    According to German media, talk is of a delay of six months to a year. The reason is the insolvency of the company Kruck, which was building the interior spaces of the terminals. According to the Berlin newspaper Der Tagesspiegel, they are only 20 percent complete.
    According to Wowereit, problems have also arisen from a recent regulation by the European Commission, which, starting in April 2013, will lift existing restrictions on the amount of liquids passengers can take on board planes. This will require increased security measures and the introduction of scanners for liquids. "These scanners require double the space," he pointed out. Nevertheless, he hopes that the expected delay in completing the airport can be minimized and the "horror scenario" of one year can be averted.
    BBI is currently one of the largest infrastructure projects in Germany and the biggest airport construction site in Europe. The capacity of the central six-story terminal is to be gradually increased to 45 million passengers annually. Berlin aims to compete with Frankfurt am Main and London Heathrow and attract passengers from neighboring Czech Republic and Poland. For comparison, Prague's Václav Havel Airport handled 11.6 million passengers last year.