Eight times larger than the White House, ten times larger than the official residence of the British Prime Minister, three times larger than the Elysee Palace, the official residence of Emmanuel Macron. The planned new construction of the Federal Chancellery in Berlin will be huge and very expensive, hundreds of millions of euros. And this is in times of crisis, when citizens’ wallets are empty.

The new chancellery will include 400 new offices, a day center with places for 12-15 children (2.8 million euros), an additional and fully furnished apartment of the chancellor of 250 square meters, a helipad at a height of 23 meters (10 million euros).

Initially, the project was supposed to cost about 457 million euros. Meanwhile, costs rose to 777 million euros. But even this figure may be exceeded with the start of construction work.

Construction should begin by the end of the year, and it is planned to be completed in 2028. 200 trees, some of which are old, will have to be destroyed, and at the end some new ones will be planted.

One of the reasons for the expansion of the initial project is that the workplaces for about 400 employees, currently housed in other buildings, are to be concentrated in the Chancellery. The federal chancellor says a “functional seat in government, especially in times of crisis” is needed.

The project’s expansion initiative will create 50,000 square meters of floor space – double the current size. According to the federal government, the expanded building is necessary so that all employees can truly work together under one roof. The current 25,000 square feet probably won’t have enough room for them.

And this expansion has been controversial since last month. Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) wants to suspend for several years the planned expansion of the Federal Chancellery, as well as the construction of a new building for his ministry.

According to a spokesperson for Lindner, all projects “must be tested for their utility and profitability.” However, the analysis regarding the expansion of the headquarters of the Federal Ministry of Finance has not yet been completed. 35 million euros have already been paid for planning costs alone. The goal now is to conduct a “review of plans.”

According to government official Wolfgang Büchner, the costs already incurred for the planned expansion of the Federal Chancellery are even higher and amount to “more than 100 million euros”. Work has already started there, excavators are digging the office garden, the construction site fence has been erected. “Stopping the project without losses is no longer possible,” says Buchner.

Political calculation

Why Lindner is coming now to offer housing and challenge buildings that have been planned for years is a matter of political calculation. The ruling coalition is having difficulties preparing the budget for next year. Lindner wants the “debt brake” to be respected again, but his coalition partners want to spend another 70 billion euros on various projects.

The dispute has been going on for weeks. The biggest disputes between the parties should be clarified by the coalition committee. For Lindner, delaying new buildings as a personal austerity proposition is clearly part of a political strategy.

“I believe that in times of more home offices and flexible working, a new building next to the Chancellery that costs at least 800 million is unnecessary,” Lindner told ZDF.de at the end of March.

Lindner suggests that Chancellor Olaf Scholz would be “rather displeased” if he proposed it now.

Unusual building

“Probably”, because the costs for the new Chancellor’s building have long been included in the current budget. The budget committee approved the funding last September. So if the “pots” want money from this for other projects, the budget committee must agree.

Bernhard Dahldrup is a member of the Bundestag and head of the SPD parliamentary group in the commission responsible for the construction of the new Bundestag. Of course, it is correct, he says, to check the profitability calculations. Especially when new events take place in the world of work.

“However, Chancellery is not a typical office building,” says Daldrup. “Suddenly stopping construction does not automatically improve the situation.” And not necessarily cheaper.