German efficiency fail : a case study

As far as Germany goes I've been delayed on trains, planes and (severely) automobiles. The myth of German efficiency is dead to me.

The city, state and federally funded airport was originally expected to cost €2bn. Earlier this year, however, planners said the current estimated costs would reach €7.3bn, a number that could rise further depending on how long it takes to finish. And every month the airport sits unopened, it racks up millions of euros in maintenance and upkeep costs.

The first major sign something was wrong came in summer 2010, when the corporation running construction, the state- and federally-controlled Flughafen Berlin-Brandenburg, pushed the opening from October 2011 to June 2012. In 2012, it really did look like the airport would open: the city planned a ceremony which would have been attended by Chancellor Angela Merkel. But less than a month beforehand, inspectors found significant problems with the fire safety system and pushed the opening back again to 2013.

It wasn’t just the smoke system: a series of other major problems subsequently emerged. More than 90 metres of cable were incorrectly installed; 4,000 doors were wrongly numbered; escalators were too short. There was such a shortage of check-in desks the planners proposed some airlines check their passengers in at tents in front of the terminal - a move that airlines naturally opposed.

The cost of cleaning, maintenance, repairs and energy for terminals no passengers have ever flown through is so high that the headlines about it are almost comical. Earlier this year, for example, all 750 of the monitors showing flight information had to be replaced - at a cost of €500,000 - because they had burned out after years. For months in 2013, a computer glitch meant planners couldn’t turn off the lights in the terminal (this has since been fixed). And empty trains run into the airport’s station every weekday to keep it properly ventilated.

Assuming all goes well, the airport should open in October 2020. The airport’s planning corporation stood by that estimate as recently as October 2018, despite acknowledging that there are still a “variety of defects” with the power cable system, as well as power and lighting for the security system. The airport will also have to undergo extensive inspections, slated to begin next year, before it can be opened. “All the experts tell me there are no shortcomings at BER Airport we can’t fix,” Daldrup told Berlin’s local government in a hearing. “I am convinced that BER will be put into operation in October 2020.”

Well, best of luck to 'em, they'll need it.
http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20181030-what-happened-to-berlins-ghost-airport