Skip to content

"Shambles of a state treaty": criticism of the prison building

A joint prison was supposed to help Saxony and Thuringia save money. However, construction costs have now exploded - and the planned prison in Zwickau is still not finished. Thuringian MPs complain about a lack of influence.

View of the construction site of the joint prison of Saxony and Thuringia. Photo.aussiedlerbote.de
View of the construction site of the joint prison of Saxony and Thuringia. Photo.aussiedlerbote.de

Zwickau - "Shambles of a state treaty": criticism of the prison building

In the Thuringian state parliament, several MPs have criticized delays and cost increases in the construction of a joint Thuringian-Saxon prison in Zwickau. "What a debacle," said FDP MP Dirk Bergner on Wednesday during a topical debate in the Thuringian state parliament. We neither know when the prison construction will be completed, nor do we know how much it will cost in the end. "What we are seeing here is the shambles of a state treaty."

The project has been criticized for years; an opening date originally planned for 2019 has been postponed to 2025. The estimated costs have doubled. The planned new prison in Zwickau will have space for up to 820 prisoners - 450 from Saxony and 370 from Thuringia. It is intended to replace several other prisons. The two federal states signed a state treaty for the project in 2014.

Left-wing MP Sascha Bilay pointed out that Wolfgang Voss (CDU) was Thuringia's finance minister at the time. He had previously been State Secretary of Finance in Saxony. "If the public is now asking why this treaty was so detrimental to Thuringia's interests, it is because only eyes from Saxony were looking at this treaty."

CDU MP Stefan Schard said that solutions had to be sought. "There are huge problems with the construction of the prison in Zwickau." He saw no other option than to "bring Zwickau online as quickly as possible".

SPD MP Dorothea Marx said: "This is a very, very bad situation that we are completely excluded from influencing." It was important to ensure that the prison system in Thuringia did not suffer as a result.

According to the state treaty, Thuringia has to bear around 45.12 percent of the costs, explained Thuringia's Justice Minister Doreen Denstädt (Greens). The contract had been agreed "without safety clauses and obviously from a poor negotiating position for Thuringia". For example, Thuringia had refrained from exerting any significant sovereign influence on the construction.

The most recent target date for commissioning was the first quarter of 2025. However, Denstädt said that a new date would first have to wait for a new construction schedule to be drawn up. According to the information, total costs of 149.5 million euros were initially estimated in 2014. Thuringia's share should have amounted to 67.5 million euros. In the meantime, the total costs were estimated at 302.8 million euros. Denstädt indicated that Saxony was probably expecting further cost increases.

Link to the invitation

Read also:

Source: www.stern.de

Comments

Latest