Several construction projects of the Bundestag are significantly more expensive than originally planned. Parliament Vice President Wolfgang Kubicki (FDP) admitted this.
The expansion of the Marie-Elisabeth-Lüders-Haus on the banks of the Spree, which belongs to the Bundestag, was initially estimated at 190 million euros. “We’re now at 366 million euros,” Kubicki told Der Spiegel magazine. Immission control rules would have led to a complete redesign and the replacement of the energy and heating technology.
On the opposite site, “Luisenblock Ost”, where, in addition to Bundestag buildings, commercial space, apartments and a trade union building are to be built, there is also a risk of significantly higher costs. “Originally, almost one billion euros was assumed for the construction project,” said Kubicki. “With the current enormous increases in construction costs, the entire project in the area of the Luisenblock East, i.e. not just for the parliament buildings, could well exceed two billion euros.”
The Bundestag Deputy rejects doubts about the necessity of the parliamentary buildings. “The need for space has grown continuously over the past three decades,” explained Kubicki. In order to accommodate the administration, other properties would currently have to be rented at high cost. “These costs will disappear once the new buildings are finished.”
