PHOTO: A 2010 photo shows Berlin Airport under construction. (Courtesy of Wikipedia)
Maybe they should have had Mercedes-Benz or BMW build the new Berlin Airport, because a country that prides itself on quality and efficiency is embarrassed by yet another announced delay in the opening of the new facility.
For the fifth time, the scheduled opening of the new Berlin-Brandenburg International Airport has been pushed back as the chief executive of the airport operations company resigned today.
Hartmut Mehdorn took over as head of Flughafen Berlin Brandenburg GmbH in March of 2013, resigned effective July 1 as the problem-plagued airport continues to have its issues. Berlin, Germany's biggest city and largest tourist draw, is also one of Europe's most visited cities. The new airport was scheduled to open in 2008 but has been beset by financial and construction woes.
The new announced date for the opening of the airport has been pushed back to 2017. Mehdorn's two-year contract was up in March of 2015.
"The organization of the construction site is now sorted, the major technical questions have been decided, and a new management team is on board," Mehdorn said in a statement published by the Wall Street Journal.
Cost over-runs for the project have soared. Originally, the new Berlin-Brandenburg Airport was supposed to open in 2008 at a cost of $2.5 billion. Then it was supposed to open in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and now 2017.
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