Parliament speaks Credit: Green light for evacuation of the Mitholz ammunition depot

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With 39 votes against, 0 and 3 abstentions, the small chamber said yes to the pledge loan. The National Council approved the deal in early May with 180 votes against, 5 and 8 abstentions. The template is now cleaned up.

In December 1947, major explosions occurred in the former army ammunition depot near Mitholz in the municipality of Kandergrund BE. The depot partially collapsed and several people were killed when boulders were thrown through the air. Dozens of houses were destroyed and several hundred tons of explosives were left in the rubble.

In 2018, a new report from the Ministry of Defense concluded that the ammunition depot had to be evacuated due to persistently high risks. The Federal Council requested a commitment loan of 2.59 billion francs for the work, including a safety margin due to uncertainties. The project can now be executed.

This loan was initially not without controversy in parliament. The responsible committees have postponed their decision several times. Initially, they wanted to explore further options, although they agreed that the current situation at the facility and in the debris cone represented an unacceptable risk.

Ultimately, a majority concluded that a complete evacuation was the safest and most sustainable solution compared to other options. If the evacuation is not completed, the tenor said questions about long-term safety and exposure to contaminants would remain unanswered.

Expulsion is “an important signal”

However, the debate in the Council of States once again showed that not everyone is completely convinced of the project. “There are many question marks, there are still dangers,” said Thomas Minder (independent/SH), who abstained from the general vote. He lacks a purely factual and technical discussion. “For me the decision is more political.”

Werner Salzmann (SVP/BE) contradicted this: only a complete evacuation would completely solve the problem. “Anything else would mean a risky shift of the problem to the offspring.” Security is needed now. Andrea Gmür-Schönenberger (Centre/LU) noted that there is hardly any project that has been tested so extensively.

Defense Minister Viola Amherd advocated the $1 billion loan. The expulsion is an important signal for the affected population. “She has been living in uncertainty for five years.” The Ministry of Defense has examined and evaluated 19 variants in advance. “We have not made a hasty political decision,” she said in response to critical voices.

First move in 2025

The project, which has been running for more than 25 years, is intended to eliminate the risk of further explosions in the former railway tunnel and in the rubble cone in front of the facility. It also provides for comprehensive removal of explosive residues, heavy metals and fire debris throughout the area affected by the 1947 explosion.

In addition, a protection tunnel for the national highway and a gallery for the railway line will be constructed. There are also measures to protect infrastructure against natural hazards such as avalanches, floods, debris flows or falling rocks. These measures will remain in effect after the evacuation is complete.

The first residents of Mitholz should move in 2025 due to the work, the rest should move by 2030 at the latest. About fifty people in the safety zone would be affected by the measure.

According to the message from the Federal Council, the majority of the financing – around 1.4 billion francs – will come from provisions already booked in the Ministry of Defense and will therefore not burden the debt brake.

The obligation loan also contains reserves of 760 million francs for project risks and expected inflation. In addition, uncertainties still exist regarding the exact location, condition and quantity of the ammunition remains and the challenging geological and hydrological conditions.

Several MPs criticized the large reserves. However, requests to submit part of the funding to parliament at a later date failed, as did the reduction of funds for the clearance and disposal of the ammunition remains, as well as for the restoration of the site and repopulation of Mitholz.

However, municipalities will re-examine the complex project in the winter. There is a proposal to set up a supervisory delegation for the evacuation in Mitholz – similar to the Neat project in the 1990s and 2000s. (SDA)

Source:Blick