Monika Skolimowska / dpa-Zentralbild / DPA
Brandenburg, Freienbrink: The electric car manufacturer Tesla wants to build the new factory for electric cars on this piece of forest
After the agreement to sell the property to the US electric car manufacturer Tesla, further important steps are pending. In January the purchase contract is to be discussed in the budget committee of the Brandenburg state parliament. The spokesman for the State Chancellery, Florian Engels, said on Saturday on request. First, however, the Tesla board must approve the draft contract. “Then it will be our turn again,” said the spokesman for the Treasury, Ingo Decker. Only then could the Ministry of Finance forward a corresponding template to the Committee on Budgets.
The committee has to approve the sale of the property for the planned Tesla factory because the 300 hectare site is owned by the state. According to the ministry spokesman, an exact date for the meeting of the Committee on Budgets has not yet been determined, because the committee itself sets its meeting dates.
Brandenburg’s Minister of Economics Jörg Steinbach (SPD) was less reluctant. He assumes that the contract will be signed “this week, at the latest the New Year’s week”, he told the RBB news magazine “Brandenburg Aktuell”. The contract was “polished” a little bit editorially, but that was no longer relevant, Steinbach said. When asked, he replied that he was “95 percent certain” that the Tesla project would work.
State Office for the Environment checks Tesla documents
The state government had reached an agreement with Tesla on Friday about the sale of the site for the factory, but had not yet signed the contract. Confidentiality had been agreed on the content. Both sides would now have the opportunity to review the draft, it said.
Tesla plans to start building a “Giga factory” on the site in Grünheide (Oder-Spree) from mid-2020. From 2021 onwards, the automaker plans to produce the Model Y compact SUV there. The plans were announced in November. According to the district, up to 4,000 people are supposed to work in three shifts in the factory.
The State Office for the Environment (LfU) is currently reviewing Tesla’s application documents for the construction of the Grünheide plant for completeness and suitability for public interpretation. It is about an approval according to the Federal Immission Control Act. According to the Federal Ministry for the Environment, the law includes, among other things, the protection of people, animals and plants, soil and water from harmful environmental effects. After that, the documents should be made public, then the public participation follows, Environment Minister Axel Vogel (Greens) had announced.
The focus is on infrastructure and housing
“We look forward to further steps and are now waiting for the LfU to check that the contract documents are complete,” said a spokesman for the Oder-Spree district on Saturday.
A regional steering group, in which municipalities such as Grünheide, Erkner, Fürstenwalde, Storkow and Schöneiche work together, is to work out in which areas the surrounding cities and municipalities see a need for the Tesla settlement. The focus is on infrastructure and housing, it said. “We should get into the starting position. There are a few things that need to be considered before we can go into a quick sprint,” said Gundula Teltewskaja, the rural development officer. Results are to be forwarded to the Tesla task force of the state government.
According to Brandenburg’s Minister of Economic Affairs, work on the disposal of ordnance should begin on the site first, followed by the clearing of the trees.
mg / AFX