• croatiantimes.com
• romaniantimes.at
• salzburgtimes.at
• viennatimes.at
• austrianindependent.com

Today

• Vienna - VESCC English Catholic Mass
• Vienna - Unknown Underground
• Vienna - Cats
• Vienna - Andy Warhol
• Vienna - Laser Tag

© europics.at

06. 09. 10. - 15:00

• more Business news
• RSS Feed Business

06. 09. 10. - 15:00

VIA hit by leaked RH Skylink report

Vienna International Airport (VIA) decision-makers are under fire after details of an Audit Office (RH) investigation into the delayed construction of a new terminal were revealed.

Viennese daily Kurier reports today (Mon) that bosses at Flughafen Wien AG – the firm which manages the airport – failed to react instantly when first technical difficulties with submitted concepts were discovered shortly after the Skylink project got the green light in 2005.

The newspaper claims that the RH report shows that VIA officials only handed over the mistake-laden concept for indoor technical appliances to a new consortium instead of briefly delaying the building process to start a new Europe-wide tender.

Neither the newly assigned planning crew nor their staff managed to cope with the many errors the bungled initial strategy of a Viennese firm contained.

Flughafen Wien AG board member Christian Domany was sacked following leaked information suggesting that costs to build Skylink could double from the initially announced 450 million Euros.

Skylink would be VIA’s fourth terminal. It was set to start operating for the European Football Championship co-hosted by Austria and Switzerland in 2008.

VIA officials said earlier this year they will manage to open Skylink in the first half of 2012. Flughafen Wien AG supervisory board chief Christoph Herbst said recently he had been assured by the airport’s board costs would not surpass 830 million Euros.

Board spokesman Herbert Kaufmann defended the decision to assign a new consortium without changing technical appliances to the concept. "We have the best experts in the construction industry on board," he said today.

Kaufmann stressed the Flughafen Wien AG board would take the preliminary RH findings "very seriously. It contains a lot of advice we have already considered, with further ones we will consider."

He said it was important to await the final report to discuss the issue.

Several offices and homes of businessmen involved in the project have been raided by investigators during the past few months.

Business newspapers already say Skylink is one of the biggest Austrian post-war scams regardless of what the final RH report holds.

Skylink and RH’s findings may also affect the 10 October Vienna city parliament election since the city of Vienna and the province of Lower Austria both hold a 20 per cent stake in Flughafen Wien AG.

Vienna Greens leader Maria Vassilakou accused the Viennese department of the Austrian Social Democratic Party (SPÖ) of trying to sweep the topic under the mat considering the ballot.

"Hundreds of millions of Euros were blown out of the window," she said, while Freedom Party (FPÖ) official Norbert Hofer accused the Flughafen Wien AG board of "having acted completely irresponsibly". Hofer also said Kaufmann must "resign immediately".

Vienna SPÖ official Siegfried Lindenmayr dismissed the statements as "hot air created in election campaigning", adding that a publication of the RH report would be a breach of law.

The Social Democrats rule with an absolute majority in Vienna after garnering 49.1 per cent in the 2005 vote. This result gave the party of Mayor Michael Häupl a majority of seats in the city parliament.

The Vienna branches of the FPÖ and the Greens announced plans to call in a special summit in the city parliament to debate the alleged Skylink building blunders.

Häupl promised there will be "consequences" if RH finds out that wrong actions have been carried out by VIA decision-makers. The mayor stressed he will not act "based on prejudgements".

Lower Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP) Governor Erwin Pröll declined to comment on the issue.

VIA registered 8.9 million passengers in the first half of this year, up by 5.5 per cent compared to the same time span in 2009.

Flughafen Wien AG’s net profit soared year on year by 11.6 per cent in the first half of 2010.

Austrian Times

Related articles: Vienna focus

1. Knoflacher emphasises pedestrian zones' economic effects

   » General News 2012-05-24

   A renowned traffic planner has stressed that shop owners are generally appreciating the introduction of pedestrian zones.

2. FW turnover takes off

   » Business 2012-05-24

   Austria’s biggest airport has managed to increase its profit.

3. Vienna road toll on the agenda again

   » General News 2012-05-22

   The Vienna Greens are risking a coalition-internal conflict by calling for a city toll.

more related articles tagged "Vienna focus"

Related articles: political scandals

1. Coalition accelerates anti-corruption ambitions

   » General News 2012-05-24

   The government is intensifying its attempts to pass a transparency package in parliament.

2. Army pays 2,000 staff for being idle

   » General News 2012-05-23

   The pressure on Social Democratic (SPÖ) Defence and Sport Minister Norbert Darabos is increasing as a new Audit Office (RH) examination indicates a waste of taxpayers’ money by the army.

3. Foul-mouthed MPs might face fines

   » General News 2012-05-23

   Fritz Neugebauer has started another attempt to introduce a system of fees for abusive parliament delegates (MPs).

more related articles tagged "political scandals"

Related articles: election news

1. BZÖ ends Stronach speculations

   » General News 2012-05-18

   The Alliance for the Future of Austria (BZÖ) has finally dismissed the circulating rumours about teaming up with a billionaire businessman.

2. Foreign minister rules out stop of support for Greece

   » General News 2012-05-18

   Austrian Vice Chancellor Michael Spindelegger has promised that the European Union (EU) will not let Greece down.

3. BZÖ farewell possible, poll shows

   » General News 2012-05-17

   The chances of the Alliance for the Future of Austria (BZÖ) to avoid dropping out of parliament are waning, according to a new poll.

more related articles tagged "election news"

Related articles: business scandals

1. Coalition accelerates anti-corruption ambitions

   » General News 2012-05-24

   The government is intensifying its attempts to pass a transparency package in parliament.

2. Pecik defends TA engagement

   » Business 2012-05-24

   Telekom Austria (TA) investor Ronny Pecik has declared himself a team player.

3. Petrol traders plan legal action

   » Business 2012-05-17

   The domestic mineral oil industry plans to sue the government about plans to set up a tool regulating fuel prices.

more related articles tagged "business scandals"

Turks flattened by lone asylum seeker
A furious Nigerian went on the rampage at a refuge for asylum seekers in Leibnitz, attacking several people and damaging property.

Woman bites toddler
A woman who bit a two-year-old tot during a road rage row with her mother is being quizzed by police in Wiener Neustadt, Austria.

New Dany Boon comedy to be filmed in Austria
The French film star Dany Boon, one of the highest paid actors in Europe after his hit film "Welcome to the Sticks", is filming in Salzburg.

China meets Hallstatt
After a long time of speculation and anticipation the exact copy of Austrian world heritage village of Hallstatt-Dachstein in China will be unveiled, and there will be real-life Austrians present for the ceremony.

Skier in court after accident
A man from Graz is in court today accused of having inflicted negligent injury upon a five-year-old when skiing in Carinthia last year.

Two fires in Ottakring claim one life
Two fires started on Thursday evening in the Vienna district of Ottakring, one of which claimed a man’s life. Several people were evacuated as a result of the two blazes.

Cows zapped to death by lightning
Four cows were zapped to death after a lightning strike hit the barbed wire fence they were leaning on in Reith im Alpbachtal, Austria.

Wolf babies born in Schönbrunn
These cuddly Artic wolf cubs have got every right to look a bit frosty - after they emerged into the world for the first time in the middle of a 27 degree heatwave.

Cleaned Out
A Hungarian cleaning woman who stole tens of thousands of pounds worth of antique jewellery from an Austrian Countess and then sold it for "pocket money" unaware of its real value has been jailed by a court in Austria.

Great expectations for summer tourism season in Vorarlberg
The Vorarlberg tourism industry is currently riding high after a record breaking winter season, and the summer season is expected to follow that same trend.

Jobs in Austria