Universitetsavisen
Nørregade 10
1165 København K
Tlf: 35 32 28 98 (mon-thurs)
E-mail: uni-avis@adm.ku.dk
University of Copenhagen
Independent of management
Theme
The Niels Bohr Building has now been delayed for the 13th time. According to the owner of the project, the new opening date will be »on the other side of the summer recess«.
The government is to offer the University of Copenhagen a rent discount of up to DKK 100 million a year, pending a number of unsettled arbitration cases. At the same time, the minister promises to help the university if the final rent level is »unsustainable«.
Four new prestige buildings at the University of Copenhagen have ended up as scandals. Why do things go so terribly wrong when things are being built for this university?
The prospect of a huge increase in rent after a faulty construction process will lead to the University of Copenhagen having to reduce more floor space than what the new Niels Bohr Building would have added.
The Danish Building and Property Agency wants the University of Copenhagen to pay DKK 445m of the extra bill for the construction, which amounts to an additional DKK 32 million in rent. The university has now brought the case against the agency before a court of arbitration.
The completion of the scandalised Niels Bohr complex on Jagtvej is a high priority for the project’s owner. Project Manager Jørn-Orla Bornhardt says that he - just like UCPH - wants researchers to bring home Nobel prizes in the laboratories that he is building.
After budget overruns on the scale of billions of kroner for the Niels Bohr Building and the Maersk Tower, a new major construction task towers up on the horizon. Now the University of Copenhagen's new Natural History Museum of Denmark is to be excavated in the middle of the capital city. Is this at all possible on budget? Yes, says the government’s new building contractor. Perhaps, says a construction researcher.
The government hopes to have part of its expected extra costs for the Niels Bohr Building recovered from the Spanish contractor Inabensa. The preliminary claim is for a half billion Danish kroner plus VAT. It is still uncertain how much UCPH will have to pay.
The University of Copenhagen is likely to have to pay a substantial rent increase on the Niels Bohr Building from government after construction delays and a cost overrun of at least DKK 1.3 billion. Minister for Higher Education and Research Søren Pind will not guarantee that the university will not have extra costs.
The Danish Building and Property Agency has been removed from the scandalous Niels Bohr Building project. The director resigns from the project. Management of the project has been inadequate, according to a report. Minister says that UCPH does not have to pay the largest part of extra costs.
