Dear reader,

Werner Studener, Deputy Director General Administration, New ECB Premises Project Coordinator

In the summer of 2010, having overseen the successful first round of tendering for the construction works for our new premises and the subsequent laying of the foundation stone, Mr Grisse retired as Director General Administration and thus from the positions of Project Coordinator and Chairman of the New ECB Premises Procurement Committee. As Deputy Director General Administration, I have now assumed responsibility for both these roles.

The contracts for the remaining construction works (constituting the final 20% of the building costs) were put out to tender last summer and relate mainly to the fit-out and landscaping works. In order to give the construction companies sufficient time to prepare their shop drawings, the various contracts will be awarded in the course of this year. However, we can already confirm that this round of tendering is also in line with our allotted budget and time frame.

The construction works launched last year are progressing well, despite the harsh winter. With regard to the structural works for the double office tower, we came to an agreement with Baresel GmbH that they would complete the works only up to the ground floor. The contract for the remaining works was then awarded to Ed. Züblin AG. Nevertheless, the date of completion of the new premises remains unchanged, i.e. the end of 2013.

Over the past year, the structural works for the double office tower, i.e. the construction of the foundations and basement, have been being carried out primarily underground. Consequently, the results have not been immediately obvious. Now, however, work is progressing on the first of the floors to be built above ground level and we can expect the completion of the top floors towards mid-2012.

Alongside the structural works for the double office tower, restoration works on the Grossmarkthalle have been under way. The latter have been considerably more noticeable, owing to the various removal works that had to be carried out to prepare for the new structures and the entrance building.

The restoration works are being conducted by Torkret, the company that built the Grossmarkthalle in the 1920s. The company started with the works on the eastern wing building – further information on and detailed pictures of the renovation measures, the bricks and the joints are provided in this newsletter – and will continue this year with those on the western wing building and main hall.

I am looking forward to watching both the double office tower grow to its full height and the progression of the works being carried out on the Grossmarkthalle. To this end, a webcam overlooking the construction site was installed in December 2010. (See images)

I would like to take this opportunity to thank our neighbours for their patience and understanding with regard to the noise of the construction works, which sometimes unfortunately have to be carried out at night, as well. I promise that we, the ECB and all parties involved – architects, planners, construction managers, the external project management company and all construction companies – are making every effort to complete our new headquarters as soon as possible!