The Chancellery in Berlin has turned into a construction site, a new building will be created.

source: Axel Schultes Charlotte Frank

Berlin - The Federal Chancellery in Berlin has turned into a construction site, where a new office building with a helipad will be built, and the original building is set to undergo roof repairs. However, the long-planned construction work has sparked controversy, as the extension is estimated to cost 777 million euros (18.2 billion CZK), which has been criticized even by Finance Minister Christian Lindner. German media are also questioning the need for repairs to the existing Chancellery building, which was completed in 2001.

At the turn of the millennium, the government district in central Berlin was a major construction site. Now, excavators and workers have returned to the residence of the members of parliament and the Chancellor and will remain there at least until 2028, when the completion of another Chancellery building with 400 new offices is planned. The expansion of the bureaucratic apparatus and high financial costs of the project do not sit well with Finance Minister Lindner, who has tried to halt the construction or at least postpone it in the current economically tense times.

"I believe that in times of working from home and flexible employment options, a new building next to the Chancellery for at least 800 million euros is unnecessary," Lindner said on a debate show on the public broadcaster ZDF.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz, however, insists on the construction. "It was decided in the previous electoral term, and the respective construction steps are already in full swing," Scholz said in parliament, where he defended the completion before the MPs. The topic of the Chancellery's expansion has been frequently addressed at recent press conferences, where journalists repeatedly asked Scholz and his spokesman Steffen Hebestreit about the construction.

Planning for the Chancellery's extension began in 2020, with initial costs estimated at around 600 million euros (14 billion CZK). Last autumn, even before the start of preparatory work, discussions began about a figure 177 million euros (4.2 billion CZK) higher. German media and many MPs with experience in other large construction projects, not only in Berlin, expect that the final amount will ultimately be even higher. Lindner himself talks about at least 800 million euros (18.7 billion CZK).

According to the Chancellery, suspending construction and waiting for a more favorable time would not lead to savings; on the contrary, each year of delay would cost up to 50 million euros (1.2 billion CZK). The Chancellery also rejects the criticism that instead of building new offices, it would be better to reduce the number of officials.

"Since 2001, when we moved into the Chancellery building, new tasks have arisen, such as the pandemic, energy policy, financial crisis, the war in Ukraine, the fight against cybercrime, and digitalization," Scholz's office stated. "Not only has the scope of tasks grown, but also the number of employees," it added.

The existing Chancellery building was designed for 460 employees. At the time of the office's opening in 2001, the capacity was sufficient. Former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, who was the first of the German government heads to move into the new headquarters, had about 400 collaborators available. However, the office of the Chancellor now has 750 employees, some of whom work in other buildings. Scholz argues for the need to unify his office into one complex.

Construction work on the Chancellery's expansion has already begun. In recent weeks, excavators with hydraulic hammers have demolished a massive concrete wall surrounding the Chancellery's garden, where the new building will rise. The area is now leveled and prepared for laying the foundations. Due to the construction, part of the surrounding area is also closed off and surrounded by a fence monitored by security cameras.

The Chancellery garden, which is separated from the existing nine-story headquarters by the Spree River, crossed by a footbridge, is not the only place in the complex where workers will be operating. The current Chancellery building also requires roof repairs and new insulation. Public demand states that the roof structure needs to be renewed considering current energy requirements. Energy refurbishment is also expected for four large glass skylights.

The reconstruction of the roof is scheduled to begin at the end of this year, with completion expected by spring 2026. One of the requirements for the repairs is that all work must not significantly impact the operation of the Chancellery so that employees can continue to work in the building.

The adjacent parliamentary buildings also have roofing problems, as they also have flat roofs like the Chancellery. Due to leaks, water sometimes seeps into the parliamentary headquarters during heavy rains, even though millions of euros (tens of millions CZK) have been spent on repairs. In 2018, dripping water in parliament even triggered an alarm, as the police initially believed someone had broken into the interior.