Berlin’s new international airport could face further delays following the insolvency of Dutch engineering group Royal Imtech’s German division which has been working on the project, the airport’s operator said on Friday.
Imtech Deutschland filed for insolvency on Thursday after failing to secure credit from lenders, adding to a list of problems at its parent company, whose shares fell more than 40 per cent to a record low.
Some of Imtech’s staff at Berlin airport, where the company has been doing work on heating and ventilation systems, did not turn up for work on Friday, the airport said, a sign that the insolvency will have an impact on the airport’s construction, due for completion in March 2016.
"A task force will now have to assess whether and to what extent there may be an impact on the date range for the airport's opening in the second half of 2017," the airport's chief Karsten Muehlenfeld said in a statement.
Imtech was not immediately available for comment on the airport’s statement. It previously said it was evaluating the situation and its consequences following the insolvency filing.
The airport, originally planned to open in 2012, has been under construction since 2006 and is jointly owned by the city of Berlin, the state of Brandenburg and Germany's federal government.
Imtech’s troubles began in 2013 with writedowns at its Polish and German operations and an accounting scandal that led to hundreds of millions in losses and a management reshuffle.
Imtech Deutschland’s work at Berlin airport has been the subject of scrutiny by local prosecutors, who are investigating on suspicion of bribery. Imtech has said that former management members accused of wrongdoing had been dismissed and that it was cooperating with authorities and with the airport.
Separately, Hamburg prosecutors said on Friday they were still investigating the German subsidiary for suspected breach of trust. There is also an ongoing anti-trust investigation into allegations that Imtech Deutschland conspired to overcharge energy company RWE for the building of a power plant.
Reuters