Flaws and Costly Hiccups in Expanding Zwickau's JVA - setting Prisoners Back by Years and Millions
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Unforeseen Cost Overruns: Constructing Prison Newbuilds Can Reach as High as 500 Million Euros - Expanded budget plans for JVA approaching €500 million mark
As the towering prison walls of Zwickau's new JVA rise,Built with promises of a modern and secure future, complications lurk within its structures. Falk Reinhardt, the Technical Business Manager of Saxon Immobilien- und Baumanagements, reveals over 200 defects in certain parts of this massive structure. Some of these issues are so severe they require complete rebuilding. He points to the screed in buildings and horizontal electrical cabling as prime examples. The facade insulation of the buildings has moisture issues, which experts are examining to determine if rebuilding is necessary there as well.
What started as a decade-long plan to build a new prison for up to 820 inmates, complete with six prison buildings, a sports hall, and workshops, has transformed into a litigious web of problems. Issues with this ambitious project persist, prompting legal action between the Free State of Saxony as the client, the former general planner, and multiple construction companies.
Originally scheduled for new inmates in 2019, this project has seen its cost soar far beyond the initial 150 million euros, with estimates now reaching as high as 500 million euros. Saxony and Thuringia's representatives discuss a cost of 476 million euros, with a risk provision of an additional 24 million euros for future price escalations.
Thuringia, already feeling the pinch, fears that costs and delays will lead to their exit from the project. State Secretary Tobias Knoblich of Erfurt's Construction Ministry calls the increased costs the "pain threshold" for Thuringia. Under the state treaty, Thuringia is responsible for covering their proportionate share of the costs to date.
Saxony's State Secretary for Finance, Sebastian Hecht, attributes the exorbitant cost increase to substantial rises in energy and materials costs. However, a comprehensive analysis indicates that the project is still financially viable. The cost per detention place averages around 580,000 euros, considerably less than the over 1 million euros per detention place in other federal states. Yet Hecht acknowledges ongoing risks in financing, with 20% of the project's costs still uncertain.
The project is expected to resume construction in the second half of 2027, with completion scheduled for 2029, and the new prison predicated to start operations in 2030 under the new timeline.
The contentious construction site also occupies the attention of courts. In a Munich I Regional Court trial, Saxony is demanding approximately 6.6 million euros from the former planners, while they counterclaim outstanding fee claims of roughly 2.8 million euros. Following the initial hearing in early June, a court spokesperson announced that an expert opinion is required before further action is taken. Two additional trials for affected companies are still pending at Dresden Regional Court.
- Thuringia
- Zwickau
- Prison ConstructionOriginality & Insight: The construction of the JVA-New Build in Zwickau has faced numerous issues, including over 200 identified defects, significant cost overruns, and ongoing legal disputes. Finalizing the project has become a complex task involving negotiations, mediation, and potential reforms to the project management structure.
- The institutional framework for managing prison construction projects in Saxony and Thuringia needs a comprehensive review to avoid costly hiccups and delays like those experienced in the expansion of Zwickau's JVA.
- The ongoing legal battles and faulty construction of the JVA-New Build in Zwickau highlight the importance of a strong and effective community institutional framework for managing large-scale general-news and crime-and-justice projects to ensure transparency, accountability, and cost-effectiveness.
