German Efficiency Stops Short at Big Building Projects

Construction cranes hover over the Elbe Philharmonic Hall in Hamburg, Germany, on Oct. 20, 2011. The cost for the construction of the concert hall, which at completion will be the tallest building in the city, is expected to be at least seven times more than planned and is six years behind schedule. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

Germany’s engineering prowess in car and machinery manufacturing is admired around the world, with many wondering how to emulate the German model. When it comes to building a new airport in the capital and other large-scale construction projects on the go, however, Germans would rather not draw much attention to themselves.

The new grand Berlin Brandenburg Airport was meant to replace all three existing airports in Berlin, unifying all air traffic entering the city. It will be the country’s third largest airport. After two decades of planning and construction, the airport was scheduled to open in 2011.

Now, however, in January 2013 on a field in southeast Berlin, construction workers are the only ones entering the shiny, new terminals. The opening date for the airport has been postponed five times now, the latest postponement announced on Jan. 6, each time creating a media furor.

The initial reason given was an unsafe fire safety system that needs fixing, but more issues have since accumulated. At the last meeting of the supervisory board, it was uncertain whether the airport would even open before 2015. The original price tag also jumped from 2.4 billion euros (US$3.2 billion) to at least 4.2 billion euros (US$5.6 billion).

The construction of the Elbe Philharmonic Hall, an ambitious concert hall at the Port of Hamburg has stalled. The costs have increased sevenfold and the project is six years behind. Stuttgart 21, a big rail infrastructure upgrade that includes the renewal of a central train station, has also met with major obstacles. The project in the southern state capital has met with fierce protest for years and might now be stopped altogether due to cost concerns.

The airport blunder is only one of several surrounding major construction projects in Germany these days where progress has gone off course from projected timelines and costs.

For outside observers, these blunders don’t fit the picture of industrious and efficient Germans. However, the German process of oversight on such projects and German public opinion may explain the delays, according to some economists.