Flughafen Berlin Brandenburg presents SPRINT programme for 'speedy' opening of Berlin Brandenburg

Germany's Flughafen Berlin Brandenburg GmbH CEO Hartmut Mehdorn presented (12-Apr-2013) SPRINT, the action plan for a "speedy" opening of the future Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER) to the supervisory board. Mr Mehdorn said: "We are making a fresh start in various parts of the organisation. This entails changes with regard to personnel as well as processes to accelerate the opening of BER". Mr Mehdorn will personally oversee the action plan SPRINT which will bring together all processes that are related to the opening of Berlin Brandenburg, from the remaining construction work to approvals, trial runs and the opening itself. SPRINT will be coordinated by a dedicated Project Management Office which will be located at the airport. SPRINT will also establish a centre of competence that will oversee all technical aspects of the project such as the evaluation of the current state of the construction work, liaison with companies involved in the project and documentation. Moreover, all training necessary for the move to Berlin Brandenburg and to ensure the operational readiness of the new airport will become part of SPRINT. Mr Mehdorn added: "The remaining work at BER will be divided up into 20 to 30 modules. The managers responsible for each module will be announced over the coming weeks. Our technical centre of competence will rely on both internal and external know-how, and we will talk to everyone who can make a positive contribution to the swift opening of BER." Matthias Platzeck, the state premier of Brandenburg and chairman of the airport's supervisory board promised the board's full support for the new direction taken by the operating company: "It is the right decision to set the course for a swift opening of BER. We are clearly noticing that things are moving forward since the appointment of Mr Mehdorn". [more - original PR] [more - original PR - German]