A protracted and increasingly costly expansion of the Bundestag’s Marie-Elisabeth-Lüders-Haus is facing fresh delays, pushing the completion date to mid-2026 and likely triggering another budget overrun. Documents presented to the Bundestag’s construction committee and revealed by “Politico”, indicate that the project, initially conceived in 2010, is now experiencing its eighth deviation from approved financial parameters.
Originally slated for completion by the end of 2013, the initiative has been plagued by a series of setbacks. The primary culprit initially was a faulty foundation slab requiring extensive and expensive remediation. Despite repeated reassurances from project managers, the bureaucratic inertia surrounding the construction has become a growing source of concern within parliamentary circles.
The planned handover, previously anticipated by the end of 2025, now signals that office spaces will be operational from the end of the first quarter of 2026, with full project delivery expected in the second quarter. This continued slippage raises questions about the oversight and management of large-scale public works projects.
The expansion, intended to provide 300 additional offices, meeting rooms, an exhibition space, a self-service restaurant and a significantly expanded assembly hall capable of accommodating up to 1,200 visitors, now carries a cost approaching nearly €420 million. The document explicitly acknowledges that further cost increases are inevitable due to the delayed operational commencement, necessitating a further adjustment to the approved budget.
The continued cost overruns and timeframe adjustments are likely to fuel criticism regarding the Bundestag’s ability to effectively manage public funds and the potential for more efficient oversight mechanisms to be implemented, particularly given the significant strain on taxpayer money for what many view as an overly ambitious construction project. The incident underscores a broader debate regarding the transparency and accountability of large-scale parliamentary infrastructure investments.
