There have been floating LNG terminals since the beginning of 2022, which should help to close the gap in Germany’s gas supply caused by the lack of deliveries from Russia.
Gas is already being delivered to the facilities at the Wilhelmshaven and Brunsbüttel sites. Another terminal is to be built in Wilhelmshaven and two others in Stade and Lubmin. But the construction of the terminals is now causing a lot of stress, because the federal government has miscalculated the cost planning by a whopping one billion euros.
Forgotten costs in the application
According to the “Bild“-Newspaper one had to apply for a financial supplement for the Ministry of Economics. The background are various extra costs that were simply forgotten during the planning.
For example: Follow-up costs of the construction. In the application, the Ministry of Finance writes: “Only as the project progressed did it become known that the FSRU would become a German permanent establishment due to the permanent concern in a German port, which is accordingly subject to income tax and social security contributions.” In addition, a tugboat is needed at the terminals , which also causes additional costs. You didn’t know this beforehand.
Faulty negotiations
An even bigger problem seems to be the miscommunication between the federal government and the companies involved in the construction. CDU housekeeper Andreas Mattfeldt (53) told the “Bild” that “negotiations with industry were almost completely naïve”. Both the energy company RWE and the private companies that own the lines have withdrawn from assuming the costs of the construction in Lubmin. However, the Federal Ministry of Economics had counted on the funds from the companies. Now the state has to pay the extra costs itself.
The whole thing is just pretty embarrassing, says Mattfeldt: “It’s inexplicable to me how such technical errors can happen. Two large consulting companies have been involved here alongside the Federal Ministry of Economics. A whole garrison is working on the implementation with extreme costs, both in the ministry and in consulting firms.”
