Squabbling Over the New Pen: Saxony-Anhalt's Prison Location Remains up in the Air
Discussion ongoing over potential site for new penitentiary - Pending determination regarding the relocation of the prison's site
Here's the lowdown:
The cat's out of the bag – the decision on where to build Saxony-Anhalt's new prison between Halle and Weißenfels is still hanging by a thread. Yes, you've heard it right! Minister of Justice Franziska Weidinger (CDU) confirmed the ongoing uncertainty during a meeting of the state parliament's Legal Affairs Committee. The deets? Her department is currently crunching the numbers to compare costs for both sites.
So, what's the holdup with the housing block for criminals? Well, the high praise that a thorough evaluation received back in May is under scrutiny by the Ministry of Finance. According to the insiders, they're taking their sweet time with the exam. They've got the endgame in sight – desperate for a quick decision from the state government.
MPs are foot-tapping impatient, demanding a speedy resolution and a clear timeline for the build. Unfortunately, the construction timeline is as blurry as a mystery novel's plot twist. The Minister of Finance spoke up, estimating that each year of delay could cost an extra 20 million euros. For the total cost of construction, a reasonable ballpark figure would be around 400 million euros.
History in the making, or so they say...
Quite a while back, the need for a future-proof Saxony-Anhalt prison became glaringly obvious, thanks to the mandate of single-cell accommodation. Originally, the construction destined for Frohe Zukunft in Halle hit the brakes in 2021 due to swelling expenses.
Finally, they looked into the site in Halle-Tornau and put their money where their mouth was, with millions invested in land acquisition, studies, and archaeological excavations. Due to ongoing concerns about building rights, the Ministry of Finance added the Weißenfels site to the mix – where they hoped for speedier decisions.
However, it seems the drama's far from over, with updates as rare as hen's teeth. If you're hankering for the latest scoop on the prison site showdown, it's best to cotton onto updates from local Saxony-Anhalt government announcements or the state administration.
The Commission has not yet adopted a decision on the application of the directive in the policy-and-legislation sphere, as the controversy over Saxony-Anhalt's prison location remains unresolved, owing to the delays from the Ministry of Finance. This prolonged political stalemate falls under general-news topics, with MPs growing increasingly impatient for a resolution and a clear timeline for the prison's construction.
