Inflation makes resettlement in Mitholz difficult. Some homeowners even have to invest their own money while building a new home.
According to the Federal Statistics Office, the price level in the construction industry in Switzerland has risen by about eight percent within a year. Hansueli Rauber, a contractor at Reichenbach at Bernese Kandertal, also noted this: “Insulation materials have increased by between three and eight percent almost every month, we had double the cost of reinforcing steel, kitchen appliances are no longer available. ”
With a view to building a house with a fixed construction cost, Rauber is already procuring materials and storing them to absorb any price increases and distribution problems. Because the contractor must build a new house for Verena and Peter Zumkehr from Mitholz in Aschirid. The two have to move away from Mitholz as the VBS Defense Department seeks to clear the Army’s explosive, old ammunition depot.
The last VBS offer is not enough for the house.
Rising prices in the construction industry put Rauber under pressure. He doesn’t know what construction material costs in a month. That’s why the construction contractor buys these now – at a price he knows. And it’s also important for Verna and Peter Zumkehr that their future home doesn’t get too expensive.
DDPS buys his old house in Mitholz from them. They should be able to buy a new home with this money, but the barn’s offer alone doesn’t cover the cost: “The last offer isn’t enough for the house,” says Peter Zumkehr. The amount is reasonable, but the amount is very less. So his own money is going to the new building, says the 80-year-old.
But with the rise in the cost of construction, the value of the amount they get from DDPS is theoretically falling continuously. The jumkehars say the DDPS should hold back the price hike in order not to infuse more of its own capital, and officials are willing to listen.
Inflation also causes additional costs for DDPS
Due to the rising prices of replacement homes for those who will have to relocate from Mitholz, a solution is being sought, says Adrian Gotchi, who heads the evacuation project at DDPS: “We are therefore changing our rules in this regard. , so that we can also tackle galloping inflation and maintain a fair offer on a case-by-case basis.»
In some cases, DDPS may therefore increase the purchase quantity agreed with MitholZern. But you don’t want to create an incentive for people to walk away at a later date, Gotchi says. “I wouldn’t say there is more, because the latter has less value for money.”
We want to amend our rules so that we can maintain a fair offer on a case-by-case basis as inflation gallops.
Overall, DDPS will spend more money on replacement properties than originally thought. And the cost of construction also affects the DDPS: in order to clear the ammunition from the old army depot, first huge protective structures for rail and road must be built in Mitholz.
Avoiding depot clearance is not cheap
It also costs money, according to project manager Gotchi: “There are inflation-related costs in the three-digit million range.” These facts are known and it is important that the decision to implement such a project is made in the knowledge of the potential increase in cost.
If the evacuation of the old Mitholz ammunition depot was postponed, it wouldn’t get any cheaper either. Even before the cost of construction was so high, it was estimated to cost 500 to 900 million Swiss francs.
