World Conference Center Bonn

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World Conference Center (WCCB), aerial photo (2011)
New plenary hall (2005)
Construction site - on the left the congress building - in the background the hotel (March 2009)

The World Conference Center Bonn (WCCB) is a congress center in the federal district of Bonn , in the immediate vicinity of the Rhine . It comprises parts of the Federal Palace - including the new plenary hall of the German Bundestag - and an extension completed in 2015 as the new main building. The congress center was founded in 1999 as the International Congress Center Bundeshaus Bonn (IKBB) and was given its current name in 2007.

history

In May 2007 the foundation stone was laid for an extension, a congress center and an attached hotel. The designation “World Conference Center Bonn” (WCCB) replaced the designation “International Congress Center Bundeshaus Bonn” (IKBB) used until May 14, 2007.

The contracted companies included: Ed. Züblin AG for building construction, Imtech for sanitary and ventilation systems and Elektro-Anlagenbau GmbH Neustrelitz (EAN).

In February 2009, the investor for the extension, SMI Hyundai, was no longer able to complete the project. After the general contractor filed for insolvency proceedings, construction activities came to a standstill at the end of September 2009. The public prosecutor's office in Bonn investigated actors in the project and in 2011 proceedings were opened before the Bonn Regional Court .

After years of disputes, the city of Bonn was able to regain ownership of the WCCB property in May 2012. The completion of the conference center was ensured by the Federal City of Bonn; In April 2013, the “specific costs” for this were estimated at EUR 76.8 million. Spring 2015 was named as the date for the completion of the congress center. The city of Bonn ensured the completion of the WCCB hotel by selling the 17-storey hotel shell in August 2014. The date given for the completion of the hotel was early 2016.

On June 7, 2015, the opening of the new WCCB conference building took place with the participation of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon .

New plenary hall

plenum

Until the mid-1980s, the Bundestag met in the former gym of the Pedagogical Academy in Bonn . After the hall proved to be increasingly dilapidated and no longer able to cope with the requirements of parliament, it was decided to demolish the listed building and have a new building erected in its place by the Stuttgart architects Behnisch & Partner . Following the spirit of the old Federal Republic, the building was supposed to express transparency, closeness to the citizens and modesty.

All areas of the glass and steel building can be seen, there is not a single continuous wall. The concrete walls, which are unavoidable for structural reasons, are concealed by large-scale works of art. In contrast to previous parliamentary buildings, the seating arrangement is circular. As a result, the members of the government, presidium and speakers do not sit opposite, but with them. In addition, there are no outside seats. The seating arrangement has been unchanged since the 1998 Bundestag election , only the stenographers' seats in front of the lectern have been removed.

The actual plenary hall is beneath the surrounding floor, which makes the entire building appear smaller and therefore more modest. The entrances for MPs and visitors are only a few meters apart, and the foyer can also be seen from a visitor's balcony.

The Bundestag eagle , the so-called fat hen , is a copy of the first eagle from the old plenary chamber, which was made of aluminum instead of plaster for optical reasons. The plumage of the heraldic bird is asymmetrical and patchy to show MPs that they will never achieve perfection.

On June 20, 1991, over a year before Parliament was to move into its new plenary hall in the “Behnisch Building”, the German Bundestag decided to move the government and parliament to Berlin, see Berlin / Bonn Act . All parliamentary groups debated whether the capital of reunified Germany should also become the seat of parliament and government. At 9.49 p.m., the President of the Bundestag, Rita Süssmuth, announced that 337 votes (final result 338) had been cast for parliament and government to move to Berlin. 320 members of the Bundestag had unsuccessfully advocated moving the Bundesrat and the seat of the Federal President to Berlin, but leaving the Parliament and the government in Bonn.

The German Bundestag met here between 1992 and 1999, the plenary session with the parliamentary groups, the government bank, the Bundesrat and the Presidium offered a total of 734 seats. The grandstands, located on three sides above the parliamentarians, offered space for 496 people and media representatives.

On July 1, 1999, the last session of the German Bundestag took place in Bonn. The new plenary hall was taken over by the International Congress Center Bundeshaus Bonn, today's World Conference Center Bonn, in which national and international conferences take place.

Waterworks

Waterworks

The Bundestag needed alternative quarters for the time the old plenary chamber was being torn down and the new building was being built. The choice fell on the pump house of the former Gronau waterworks from 1892 right at the foot of the Langen Eugen . It was converted into a meeting room for the Bundestag in 1985 and used from 1986 to 1992. The building has about half the area of ​​the old and the new plenary hall. There were only fixed seats for 404 of the 519 MPs. If necessary, 36 wall-mounted folding seats were used and additional chairs were set up. In order to create places for the additional 144 MPs from the New Lander after German unification in 1990, the armrests of the chairs were removed and the rows of chairs were set up even closer.

The waterworks and pump house were used by the WCCB from 1999 to the end of 2015.

Congress center and hotel

After the plenary hall and the waterworks had been transferred to the "International Congress Center Bundeshaus Bonn" on August 1, 1999, the federal government and the city specified considerations for a comprehensive extension to replace the Maritim Hotel , which was previously mostly used for hosting international conferences . In August 2000, a 100-meter-high "Bonn cone" was brought into play, which, as a multifunctional hall, was also intended to be the venue for concerts and sporting events. At the end of the year, deliberations were accelerated by the city. The hall, which cost more than 400 million marks, later turned out to be unrealistic.

Model of a congress center and hotel

Planning was resumed in February 2002. On February 27, 2002, in the presence of the then UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, the federal government, the state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the city of Bonn reached the "Agreement on the settlement of international institutions in Bonn and IKBB". The city received the plenary hall, the waterworks and the so-called "Vice President's annex" from the federal government for use and took over responsibility for the project. On December 21, 2004, the office “YES architecture” - Ruth Berktold from Munich and Marion Wicher from Graz - emerged as the winners of a six-month architectural competition.

On November 10, 2005, Michael Thielbeer, who was then a self-employed consultant, presented the municipal project management for the congress center with an “Assessment of the SMI Hyundai profitability calculation”, in which he introduced the city of SMI Hyundai (“SMI” = acronym from Susi, Mimi , I) recommended as an investor. This investor is in a position to build both the congress center and a hotel with 352 rooms for 130–140 million euros. On November 28, 2005, just three weeks after Thielbeer's expertise, the Bonn city administration submitted a draft resolution. Arno Hübner (CDU), who was city director at the time, was responsible for the submission, and later he became the “project officer” of the WCCB project. The draft resolution was approved one day later, on November 29, 2005, by Mayor Dieckmann. The proposal stipulated that the council authorized the mayor to sign a project contract with UNCC / SMI Hyundai. About the contractual partner it says: “The company SMI Hyundai Corporation is a joint venture between SMI Capital & Investment LLC, USA and the company Hyundai Remodeling Co. LtD., Korea. The shares of Hyundai Remodeling Co. LtD. are held by Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co. and members of the company's management. The Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co. is the company that the patriarch of the Hyundai Group, Mr. Ju Young Chung, founded as the first of the Hyundai companies in 1947. ”And further:“ For the realization of the IKBB project SMI Hyundai will found UNCC GmbH. The further structural planning is carried out by the company's own planning office under the direction of Young Ho Hong and in cooperation with the architecture office yes-architecture (Ms. Berktold and Ms. Wicher). ”On December 14, 2005, the Bonn City Council decided on the basis of a majority to commission SMI Hyundai with the construction of the conference center.

investor

Before the US company SMI Hyundai was accepted as an investor in the project in 2005, negotiations with two other potential investors were broken off in the course of 2005. The other potential investors were the Gesellschaft für Grundstücksentwicklung (GEAG) from Frankfurt / Main and a group operating under the name “IKBB AG”.

SMI Hyundai is headquartered in the USA. The construction of the Bonn Congress Center was supposed to be the first major project in Europe. In the overall project, Man Ki-Kim, at the time President of SMI Hyundai, explained that his company would invest 40 million euros of the 140 million euros that the project was originally supposed to cost to build the “leading convention center in Germany ”and an“ international meeting place for business people ”. The investor undertook by contract to take over the "management and services" for the congress center for a period of 30 years, "without the city having to pay a permanent subsidy for this". In fact, the investor brought in only EUR 10 million of the promised EUR 40 million equity contribution, the remaining EUR 30 million were funds from the American Honua Investment Management Inc.

UNCC GmbH was founded by SMI Hyundai. At the time she was the owner of the WCCB and was supposed to implement the project as the client. When SMI Hyundai was not able to provide 10 million euros of its own contribution shortly after the earthworks began at the beginning of 2007, its then "President" Man Ki-Kim turned to Arazim Ltd. to raise funds. Man Ki-Kim pledged 94% of the shares in UNCC GmbH. After the loan to Arazim was not repaid on time, the Israeli company with these shares became the main owner of the UNCC. As a result, the company was able to file an objection to the transfer of the shares from SMI Hyundai to Honua in the commercial register . On August 5, 2009, the Bonn Regional Court confirmed Arazim's claims in a preliminary ruling. UNCC GmbH filed for bankruptcy on October 1, 2009.

Original funding

When the project started, the construction was to be financed with a loan from Sparkasse KölnBonn in the amount of EUR 74 million and with funds from the investor in the amount of EUR 40 million. Another sponsor with 36 million euros is the state of North Rhine-Westphalia . The expansion of the congress center is also supported by the federal government with land worth 43.5 million euros and reserves from the compensation agreements of the Berlin / Bonn Act amounting to 51.6 million euros (as of December 2009). The reserves are intended to compensate for possible shortfalls in the operation of the conference center through the interest income. If the interest is insufficient, the reserves themselves should be used and if necessary - according to the planning - the city must bear the costs.

Start of construction

Site on which the extension of the WCCB was built, on the right the - meanwhile demolished - Villa Dahm (March 2006)
Archaeological excavations (June 2006)

On March 13, 2006, the parties signed the contract. The company HONG Architects was commissioned with the further planning, project control and construction management. Her owner, Young-Ho Hong, then founded the company "SMI-Hyundai Europe", which was to build the project as general contractor .

The building site was cleared in February 2006. From May to October 2006, archaeologists examined the area that belonged to the Roman " vicus bonnensis ". At the beginning of June, the demolition of the Villa Dahm (former seat of the German Parliamentary Society ) began, which was completed on July 11th. The groundbreaking ceremony took place in November 2006. In front of 200 invited guests, the mayor SMI praised Hyundai and its then president: “You are a stroke of luck for Bonn.” The foundation stone was laid in May 2007 and the topping-out ceremony was celebrated in September 2008. At the end of 2009 - according to the plan at the time - the WCCB was to be opened, followed by the Ameron World Conference Hotel Bonn in January 2010.

In addition to the congress building, the building complex includes the 17-storey hotel. A parking garage has also been built on Dahlmannstrasse. After completion, the new congress center will have a large hall with a capacity of 2650 participants. This hall can be enlarged to 3500 seats by combining it with an adjoining small hall. There are also four further divisible conference halls that can accommodate between 345 and 600 people. The 2,500 square meter foyer of the extension building, spanned by a column-free crystal roof, will be used for exhibitions, receptions or presentations.

Construction costs rise from 140 to 200 million euros

In February 2009, problems with the investor SMI Hyundai became known to the public. At this point in time, the costs for the project had risen from EUR 140 million to EUR 200 million. SMI Hyundai was not able to finance the additional 60 million euros. According to the city, the increase in construction costs was due to the enlargement of the hotel from 200 to 336 rooms, the construction of larger exhibition areas, the increase in material costs and the devaluation of the US dollar (the financing was based on the US dollar). In fact, at least the size of the hotel had been planned since 2005. Due to the contradictions in which the city project management got involved in their justification of the increase in building costs, the City Council of Bonn decided on May 7, 2009 that the audit committee should examine the increase in building costs and the controlling by the city.

Roof construction over the foyer (June 2009)
Aerial photo, facade detail (September 2009)

Instead of SMI Hyundai, the city presented “Honua” as a new investor in spring 2009. It is a conglomerate of companies. This includes Honua Investment Management, which is headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii and owned by three South Korean life insurers. Honua is represented in Bonn by Andrew Jang, who pledged to the city to fill the financial gap of 60 million euros. The new investor let the deadlines on June 30, 2009 and July 10, 2009 pass without the committed EUR 30 million of equity being transferred. In August, the mayor called again "ultimately" to transfer the money. On August 28, the city of Bonn announced that the conditions had not been met. The mayor broke off a special session of the Bonn City Council on August 13, 2009 on the subject of the WCCB, to which the CDU and the Greens had submitted extensive questions on the grounds: "I will not allow employees of the administration to be accused of aiding and abetting embezzlement and fraud" . On September 1, 2009, the municipal project manager Evi Zwiebler (CDU) resigned from her position. On September 9, 2009, the city announced that the company Pricewaterhouse Coopers AG was taking over the city's project management for the WCCB. On September 14, 2009, the city presented a “status report”.

Additional funding

After the increase in construction costs and the financing problems with private investors became known, Sparkasse KölnBonn provided a further loan of 30 million euros in addition to the original 74 million euros in the summer of 2009, so that they participated in the project with 104 million euros is. In order to secure this loan, the city of Bonn extended its subsidiary agreement - despite a statement to the contrary by the mayor at the time .

Prosecution investigations and legal proceedings

On September 15, 2009, the Bonn public prosecutor's office announced that they were launching an investigation against “Dr” in connection with the actual and financial processes relating to the WCCB. Man-Ki Kim and Young Ho Hong, including managing directors of various companies involved in the construction of the WCCB, and lawyer Dr. Michael Thielbeer, managing director and partner of WCCB Management GmbH ”. According to the Bonn public prosecutor's office, there is “suspicion of fraud to the detriment of the city of Bonn, of infidelity against the aforementioned accused. N. of companies as well as bribery and corruption in business dealings ”. Together with the State Criminal Police Office in Düsseldorf, 14 search warrants were issued on September 15, 2009. a. carried out in Bonn and Berlin. Young Ho Hong and Michael Thielbeer were arrested and interrogated on the matter, and an arrest warrant was issued against Man-Ki Kim.

At the beginning of December 2009, the public prosecutor's office initiated investigations into a particularly serious case against the former mayor Bärbel Dieckmann and the former municipal WCCB project leaders, Evi Zwiebler (CDU) and Arno Hübner (CDU), on suspicion of breach of trust. Investigations against this group of people were expanded in September 2010 and the public prosecutor's office is also investigating suspected bribery.

On February 26, 2010, the Bonn public prosecutor's office arrested Christoph Penderok, who represented Honua as an “independent financial advisor”.

He was released from custody after 16 days. Criminal investigations into the WCCB were subsequently suspended. There remained a suspicion of tax evasion and possession of child pornographic pictures. Penderok claims that he did not evade taxes and that he did not know anything about the child pornographic images, as they came from computers of the WCCB company during a hard disk mirroring and that he copied them without his knowledge. The procedure was the Bonn District Court in return for cash circulation amounting to 5,000 euros according to § 153a Code of Criminal Procedure on 25 February 2015 set .

After the Bonn public prosecutor's office had also initiated investigations against Friedhelm Naujoks, the head of the municipal building management (SGB), at the end of March 2010, Mayor Jürgen Nimptsch released Naujoks on March 31, 2010 "from the conference center area".

A first trial against four defendants, Man-Ki Kim, legal advisor Wolf-Dittrich Thilo, Michael Thielbeer and Ha Sung Chung, lawyer and advisor to Man-Ki Kim, began on September 30, 2011 before the Commercial Criminal Chamber of the Bonn Regional Court. In May 2013, Man-Ki was sentenced to six and a half years in prison for two counts of fraud and false affidavit. Wolf-Dittrich Thilo was sentenced to a prison term of two years and six months for aiding and abetting fraud, Ha Sung Chung was sentenced to three years and three months in prison for fraud and bribery, the appeal of both of them was rejected by the BGH as unfounded.

In March 2012, the Bonn prosecution announced that the preliminary proceedings against Bärbel Dieckmann had been discontinued due to a lack of sufficient suspicion. The indictment against Arno Huebner and Evi Zwiebler remains; the indictment was admitted to the main hearing before the criminal chamber of the Bonn Regional Court. The process started on February 24, 2015.

In May 2012, the Economic Criminal Chamber closed the proceedings against Thielbeer with the consent of the public prosecutor's office and against payment of EUR 150,000 after he was ready to make several statements.

Resignation request to the mayor of Bonn

Bonn's then CDU leader Axel Voss called on September 16, 2009 for the mayor to resign. She should take on political responsibility and let her already elected successor Jürgen Nimptsch (SPD) take over the helm. A day later, the City Council of Bonn asked Bärbel Dieckmann to resign from her position as Lord Mayor. The main reason for this decision, which was made with 34 to 24 votes, was the accusation that she had "seriously violated her duty to inform the Council", as the parliamentary group leader of Bündnis 90 / Die Grünen, Dorothee Pass-Weingartz , put it. Hans-Ulrich Lang from the Bürger Bund Bonn and Werner Hümmrich (FDP), however, were of the opinion that the Lord Mayor must remain in office, as the city needs “continuity of action” in the search for a solution for the WCCB. Wilfried Klein (SPD) campaigned to come to terms with the past and to do educational work, but to pull together as Bonn city council in order to get the best out of the city.

General contractor's application for bankruptcy and construction freeze

On September 24, 2009, the representative of the then detained head of SMI-Hyundai Europe, Young-Ho Hong, announced that the company had filed for bankruptcy. As a result of this application there was a complete freeze on the construction site. The city terminated the project contract with UNCC GmbH on September 29, 2009 after Sparkasse KölnBonn had previously terminated the loan agreement. Thus began on the construction project, the receivership . The UNCC GmbH and the "World Conference Center Bonn Management GmbH" then also filed for insolvency.

Despite the construction stop, a heating system was installed in the hotel and in the congress area from mid-November to December 2009 for 4 million euros in order to protect the WCCB from severe frost damage in winter, which could hinder further construction. According to the insolvency administrator, the building could only be kept at temperature in winter 2009/2010 with district heating and fan heaters, because the geothermal system in the World Conference Center Bonn could not be connected to the groundwater and operated.

The insolvency administrator of the WCCB companies, Christopher Seagon, presented a performance status report for the World Conference Center Bonn and the connected hotel on March 4, 2010. The estimated costs for the completion were then up to 74 million euros. The pure construction period, including the start-up phase, is nine months for the completion of the congress center and just under twelve months for the hotel. At the beginning of November 2010, however, it was announced that if negotiations between the city and the insolvency administrator were successful, the WCCB could only be opened in March 2013, a date that was later postponed to the summer of that year.

Audit office report

In April 2010, the auditors presented the report of the audit office on the WCCB project, which was decided by the city council in May 2009. The 475-page report comes to the conclusion that both questions that the Council has asked for consideration must be answered with no. The first question was "whether the cost increases totaling 60 million euros on the part of the UNCC or its general contractor had been sufficiently checked for plausibility and promptly demonstrated in detail", and the second question was "whether the city, represented by the SGB (municipal building management) , carried out suitable and effective controlling and thus protected the interests of the city ”. After Mayor Nimptsch refused to publish the report, although "personalized" copies had already been distributed to the council members, the Bonner General-Anzeiger put the report online on July 13, 2010. At the request of a parliamentary group member of the Bonn LINKEN, the complaints committee of the German Press Council disapproved of the publication of the complete WCCB test report on the online pages of the Bonn General-Anzeiger. The personal rights of municipal employees could be violated. The General-Anzeiger stuck to its position with regard to the already partially published official document, but deactivated the link. Because of the increased public interest in clearing up the WCCB scandal, the link was later "reactivated" again.

Reversal or Foreclosure?

In February 2010, the Lord Mayor of Bonn, Jürgen Nimptsch, announced that there was a chance that the conference center could be completed by the city. The reversal of the project back to the city opens up the possibility of becoming the owner of the property again. That gives the city back the full ability to act. After a reversal, the middle of 2011 is a time target for the commissioning of the new buildings that can be called responsible.

In February 2011, the black-green majority in Bonn's city council presented an opinion on the basis of which the CDU and the Greens acted in council decisions. Both factions did not rule out reversal, but, contrary to the mayor's strategy, wanted to apply for a foreclosure auction and “maybe - if insolvency administrator Christopher Seagon gives in - withdraw and start building work soon. Via the WCCB administrator of the Sparkasse KölnBonn ”. On April 14, 2011, the city council of Bonn approved such a procedure by a majority. Thereupon Mayor Nimptsch announced that he would object to the decision and, if necessary, object to it. After a conversation with the coalition parliamentary groups at the end of April 2011, the mayor put his concerns on hold, as the parliamentary groups declared that they would support the mayor in further efforts - parallel to the implementation of the council resolution of April 14, 2011 by the administration - to bring about an amicable reversal.

On May 17, 2011, Sparkasse KölnBonn applied for a foreclosure auction for the World Conference Center Bonn. An amicable settlement with the liquidator outside of this procedure would stop the foreclosure auction.

By a resolution of the City of Bonn Council on July 21, 2011, the administration was authorized to conclude a receivables purchase and assignment agreement with Sparkasse KölnBonn in the range of EUR 38 million to EUR 42 million. It includes the acquisition of a portion of loans receivable from UNCC Bonn GmbH together with assignment of the mortgage . On September 30, 2011, both sides signed the purchase agreement for around 39 million euros, with which the city acquired the land charge of the Sparkasse. The guarantee originally issued in the amount of 104.3 million euros was reduced by this amount.

At the end of September 2011, negotiations between the city and the insolvency administrator about the reversal were concluded. The return of the property including superstructures has now taken place by mutual agreement. The city paid EUR 8.5 million for this. Erasing Arazim's claims from the land register cost three million euros. Insolvency administrators (around one million) and Sparkasse KölnBonn (two million) are said to have split this amount. On February 28, 2012, the creditors' meeting approved the reversal agreement between the liquidator and the city.

The claims of Honua are to be regarded as a remaining risk. This company might also want to keep the city of Bonn harmless. This emerges from an official letter, but also from the complaint that Honua filed against the SMI Hyundai box company owned by Man Ki Kim in the USA.

The so-called reversal, i.e. the transfer of ownership of the WCCB property to the city of Bonn, was entered into the land register on May 11, 2012.

completion

Completion of the conference center

After an inventory was carried out in February 2013, the approval planning for the further construction of the congress center was completed in the course of 2013 . The construction contracts were awarded from January 2014 and in February 2014 already amounted to around 40 million euros. At the same time as the orders were placed, the building permit for the conference center was granted.

A municipal submission dated April 12, 2013 estimated the completion of the conference center, including a "core renovation of the parliamentary houses" in the amount of around 8.74 million euros, a sum of 76.8 million euros. On November 11, 2013, the budget committee of the German Bundestag released funding of 14 million euros for the further construction of the congress center. According to Lord Mayor Jürgen Nimptsch, the WCCB conference center building complex was "expected to be completed and usable in spring 2015".

The first meeting in the new conference building of the congress center was the negotiations for the preparation of the world climate summit in Paris . It began on June 1, 2015. It graduated on June 11. However, hardly any reliable results were achieved, so that further conferences took place before Paris .

On Sunday afternoon, June 7th, 2015, the opening ceremony of the house took place more than five years late with the participation of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon . In March 2016, there was still work to be done to complete the building management system and the measurement, control and regulation technology. After the construction defects had been remedied, the WCCB was handed over by the city to Bonn Conference Center Management GmbH (BonnCC) as the operator of the congress center at the end of October / beginning of November 2016. In the future, the United Nations square in front of the main entrance of the extension building should increase to around 50,000 square feet in front of the main entrance of the extension building using funds from the funding agreement “Strengthening Bonn as a UN location” signed in May 2016 and signed in May 2016 1,000 m² can be roofed for 1.4 million euros. In March 2017, this project had to be abandoned by architects of the WCCB due to copyright claims. Instead, from September 2017, a € 800,000 retrofitting of the WLAN in the WCCB was implemented via the ZIP. A suspended ceiling was also outstanding as a pigeon defense on the supply lines of the passage between the conference center and the hotel building (“Welckerpassage”), which was installed from August to the beginning of December 2017.

Completion of the hotel

On August 14, 2014, after a two-year public tendering process by the city of Bonn, the WCCB hotel shell and the connection to the conference center were sold to the BonnVisio Group , which owns another grand hotel in Bonn with the Kameha Grand on the Bonner Bogen . A hotel with a total of 306 rooms and 30 suites, an “Executive Lounge”, a banquet room and several smaller meeting and conference rooms was built. A “sky restaurant” and a “sky bar” with a panorama, which are open to the public, have been built on the 17th floor of the hotel. The Bonn Marriott World Conference Hotel is operated by the US hotel brand Marriott International . The spa , wellness and fitness area was to be expanded larger than originally planned and operated separately from the hotel.

The building permit was already granted in August 2014 and the hotel opened on May 30, 2016. On September 4, 2016, the GOP Group's seventh variety theater opened in the connecting building between the hotel and the conference center; The outdoor facilities in front of the hotel were completed at the end of September. The completion of the spa, wellness and fitness area including the “Roman monument” (exhibition of archaeological finds) took place at the beginning of June 2017. The investor estimated the total cost to be around 62 million euros.

Events (selection)

Before enlargement (1999-2015)

date event
11-22 December 2000 4th Conference of the Parties to the Desert Convention (UNCCD)
March 28, 2004 FDP Europe Day 2004
1st - 4th June 2004 International conference on renewable energies
19.-30. May 2008 9th UN Nature Conservation Conference
9-10 December 2009 Congress of the European People's Party (EPP)
5th December 2011 Afghanistan conference

After the expansion (since 2015)

date event
1. – 11. June 2015 UN climate conference
17th April 2016 State act for Hans-Dietrich Genscher
16.-17. February 2017 G20 Foreign Ministers Meeting
6-17 November 2017 UN climate conference in Bonn 2017
January 21, 2018 Extraordinary federal party conference of the SPD
22.-24. February 2019 European Congress of the Left Party

Operating company

From November 1999 to the end of 2003, the Maritim Hotelgesellschaft operated the then IKBB (and the Beethovenhalle ) as an interim operator, then until January 2007 the “Gegenbauer Location Management & Services GmbH” of the Berlin group Gegenbauer . Then "SMI HYUNDAI Management GmbH" took over. Since August 2008, the "World Conference Center Bonn Management GmbH" has been operating the congress center. For the operation of the WCCB, the operating company received from 2007 to 2009 - according to the city of Bonn - an “operating cost grant” totaling 1,629,704 euros and a “marketing grant” of 1,082,553.49 euros. After the company had to file for bankruptcy in connection with the WCCB disaster in October 2009 , there was a threat to the operation of the "existing buildings" at the end of 2009. On January 1, 2010, the Bonn District Court opened insolvency proceedings against WCCB Management GmbH. On December 21, 2009, the City Council of Bonn provided the financial means necessary to continue operating the “existing buildings” (and the Beethoven Hall) (an “advance payment” of EUR 713,895.67). In February 2010 the city council passed the resolution to continue running the venues under city management. Bonn Conference Center Management GmbH (BonnCC) has been the name of the company since September 2010 that has operated the existing buildings and, since October / November 2016, the extension.

Urban development effects of the expansion

The listed " Bundesbüdchen " before its relocation (June 2006)

The expansion of the WCCB required the laying down of large areas in the area between Dahlmannstrasse, Görresstrasse and the Saemischstrasse, which had been abandoned for the new construction, before construction began. Several buildings on Dahlmannstrasse (today Karl-Carstens-Strasse) were demolished which had been of great importance for Bonn's time as the federal capital. These included the former country representative of Lower Saxony , the 1992 Saxony-Anhalt had been taken over, the Villa Dahm , the Studio Bonn of the WDR , which in 1949 by the federal government for news agencies established and press representatives Pressehaus at the Görresstraße and the makeshift office container for the Secretariat of the United Nations on the early warning strategy.

The kiosk in the government district , which has been a listed building since 2002 and which stood in front of the Federal Palace and is therefore also known as the Bundesbüdchen, has been relocated. The originally planned removal of the parliamentary houses on Heussallee, which were built in 1965 and 1966 , was not carried out due to their historical significance, as they are located on the edge of the area and could therefore be integrated into the overall concept. From 2008 to 2009 the streets in the parliamentary district were completely redesigned in connection with the WCCB building. The extension is the focal point of the new United Nations Square .

literature

  • Jörg Damm, Karin Eßer: Course correction - architecture and change in Bonn. Hatje Cantz Verlag, Ostfildern-Ruit 2002, ISBN 3-7757-1269-0 .
  • Lisa Inhoffen, Rita Klein, Florian Ludwig, Wolfgang Wiedlich : The grave of millions. In: Mainhardt Graf von Nayhauß (Hrsg.): Megalomania and politics. Edition Lingen Foundation, Cologne 2012, ISBN 978-3-941118-95-9 , pp. 72–79.

Web links

Commons : World Conference Center Bonn  - Collection of images

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Questions about responsibility remain unanswered: Silence from companies and the press office. In: General-Anzeiger Bonn online. March 28, 2015.
  2. ^ Reversion of the WCCB property. In: bonn2012.de. May 11, 2012.
  3. ↑ REPORT FROM BONN of April 12, 2013 - Lord Mayor Jürgen Nimptsch: We are fulfilling the Bellevue contract
  4. ^ Sale of the WCCB hotel shell to the BonnVisio Group. In: General-Anzeiger Bonn online. October 9, 2014.
  5. ↑ a b Opening of the WCCB in Bonn. A happy day for Bonn and the mayor. In: General-Anzeiger Bonn online. June 8, 2015.
  6. ^ WD 1 Jörg Krämer: German Bundestag - Bundestag in Bonn: 'Langer Eugen', 'Wasserwerk' and 'Behnisch-Bau'. Retrieved May 25, 2020 .
  7. ↑ Unique events in the plenary hall - World Conference Center Bonn. Retrieved May 25, 2020 .
  8. ^ WD 1 Jörg Krämer: German Bundestag - Bundestag in Bonn: 'Langer Eugen', 'Wasserwerk' and 'Behnisch-Bau'. Retrieved May 25, 2020 .
  9. ^ WD 1 Jörg Krämer: German Bundestag - Bundestag in Bonn: 'Langer Eugen', 'Wasserwerk' and 'Behnisch-Bau'. Retrieved May 25, 2020 .
  10. ^ Events in the waterworks and pump house ( Memento from July 17, 2014 in the Internet Archive ), World Conference Center Bonn
  11. ↑ a b Michael Thielbeer: "Assessment of the economic efficiency calculation SMI Hyundai" (PDF; 89 kB)
  12. ↑ Lisa Inhoffen, Florian Ludwig, Rita Klein, Wolfgang Wiedlich : The Millions Trap , Part 68. In: General-Anzeiger Bonn online. October 20, 2011.
  13. ^ Resolution draft of the city administration dated November 29, 2005
  14. ↑ a b "Koreans Build Congress Center", Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger, July 30, 2005
  15. ↑ Key points of the project contract for the World Conference Center Bonn (WorldCCBonn, formerly IKBB)
  16. ^ City of Bonn: Questions about the WCCB
  17. ↑ cit. in: "Bonn wants to be in the premier league of conference cities", General-Anzeiger, November 4, 2006 ( Memento of August 27, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
  18. ↑ "WCC Bonn: Politicians demand more information", General-Anzeiger Bonn, March 4, 2009
  19. ↑ Bernd Leyendecker: The hectic search for a new investor. ( Memento from August 27, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) In: General-Anzeiger. April 15, 2009.
  20. ↑ "WCC Bonn: There will be enough money to continue building by the end of September", General-Anzeiger, August 20, 2009
  21. ↑ "WorldCCBonn: Negotiations continue - alternatives are being prepared"
  22. ^ Urgency request WCCB
  23. ^ Request for a special meeting of the Council (23 August 2009)
  24. ^ Scandal in the council: OB breaks off session. In: General-Anzeiger Bonn online. September 1, 2009.
  25. ^ City of Bonn: World Conference Center Bonn Status Report ( Memento of December 11, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) September 14, 2009 (PDF; 1.3 MB)
  26. ↑ Bärbel Dieckmann, interview about WCCB guarantee in the WDR local time on August 24, 2009.
  27. ↑ Investigations in connection with the events around the World Conference Center Bonn (WCCB). Retrieved December 12, 2018 .
  28. ↑ Investigations against Bärbel Dieckmann. In: General-Anzeiger Bonn. 5th / 6th December 2009.
  29. ^ Prosecutors in the Kameha. In: General-Anzeiger Bonn online. September 2, 2010.
  30. ^ Public main hearing on February 25, 2015 at the Bonn District Court, criminal judge
  31. ^ City of Bonn: Conference Center: "OB informs parliamentary groups about draft of the audit report " In: bonn.de. April 7, 2010.
  32. ↑ Lisa Inhoffen, Rita Klein: 59-year-old incapable of negotiating - but able to work. In: General-Anzeiger Bonn. September 13, 2012, accessed March 7, 2019 .
  33. ↑ WCCB process started on Friday. In: General-Anzeiger Bonn online. September 30, 2011.
  34. ^ WCCB trial in Bonn: Investor Man-Ki Kim sentenced to 6.5 years in prison. In: General-Anzeiger Bonn online. May 10, 2013; District Court Bonn: judgment of May 10, 2013 - 27 KLs 03/11.
  35. ↑ BGH, decision of October 14, 2014 - 2 StR 44/14.
  36. ^ "WCCB: Raid in Bonn, suspects arrested", General-Anzeiger, September 16, 2009
  37. ↑ “Majority of the Council votes for resignation of the OB”, General-Anzeiger, September 18, 2009
  38. ↑ WCCB: Hong files for bankruptcy, General-Anzeiger, September 25, 2009
  39. ↑ Rolf Kleinfeld: A lot of trouble about the heating in the WCCB. In: General-Anzeiger Bonn online. March 13, 2010.
  40. ↑ Completion of the World Conference Center Bonn costs up to 74 million euros. In: bonn.de. March 4, 2010.
  41. ↑ WCCB will be finished in 2013 at the earliest ( Memento from August 1, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ) In: General-Anzeiger. November 3, 2010.
  42. ^ Decision of the Council of May 7, 2009. In: Bonn.de.
  43. ↑ “Das Großes Schauspielhaus”, General-Anzeiger, April 23, 2010, cited above. in: www.anstageslicht.de ( Memento from February 13, 2016 in the Internet Archive )
  44. ↑ The General-Anzeiger publishes WCCB test report. ( Memento from July 16, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) In: General-Anzeiger Bonn online.
  45. ↑ Press Council disapproves of names mentioned in the WCCB test report. In: General-Anzeiger Bonn online. October 15, 2010.
  46. ^ Secret report on the WCCB scandal. In: wdr.de. April 22, 2010.
  47. ^ Bonn: WCCB: Complete RPA original report for download. In: bonner-presseblog.de.
  48. ↑ City of Bonn: "Lord Mayor Nimptsch sees opportunities for completion under municipal management"
  49. ↑ "The Millions Trap: Revolt of the Representatives", General-Anzeiger, 26./27. February 2011 ( Memento from March 5, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
  50. ↑ WCCB: Majority of the Council throws down proposal by Nimptsch and his advisors. ( Memento from April 18, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) In: General-Anzeiger Bonn online. April 15, 2011.
  51. ↑ Press release of the City of Bonn April 29, 2011.
  52. ↑ WCCB before foreclosure auction. In: General-Anzeiger Bonn online. May 18, 2011.
  53. ↑ WCCB: main creditor for 39 million euros. In: General-Anzeiger Bonn online. December 22, 2011.
  54. ↑ The course has been set for the further development of the WCCB. In: General-Anzeiger Bonn online. January 27, 2012.
  55. ↑ Mail from Honolulu. In: General-Anzeiger Bonn online.
  56. ↑ Honua Securities et al., Plaintiffs v. SMI Hyudai et al., Defendants, Case 1: 10-cv-00785-GBL -JFA Document 1 Filed 07/14/10 (PDF; 1.7 MB)
  57. ↑ Reversal legally binding The WCCB now belongs to the city. In: General-Anzeiger Bonn. May 12, 2012.
  58. ↑ General planner praises the state of construction - completion will begin in summer , General-Anzeiger, January 18, 2013
  59. ↑ Now the WCCB orders go out. In: General-Anzeiger Bonn. January 30, 2014.
  60. ↑ After the defect has been remedied, the WCCB can be rebuilt. WDR Studio Bonn, February 21, 2014.
  61. ^ "WCCB help: SPD members abstained", General-Anzeiger, 13./14. November 2010
  62. ↑ Open letter: Mayor Jürgen Nimptsch explains the cost explosion. In: General-Anzeiger Bonn online. April 13, 2013.
  63. ↑ The WCCB in Bonn is made ready. In: Bonner Rundschau online. May 29, 2015.
  64. ↑ UN climate conference in Bonn ended. Good vibes, few results. In: WDR-Studio Bonn online. June 11, 2015.
  65. ↑ WCCB costs now at 90 million. In: General-Anzeiger Bonn online. March 29, 2016.
  66. ↑ Defects corrected after the building scandal in the WCCB. In: General-Anzeiger Bonn online. 5th November 2016.
  67. ↑ "We take the Bonn Compensation seriously". In: General-Anzeiger Bonn online. May 10, 2016.
  68. ↑ Agreement "Strengthening UN location Bonn" on the granting of federal grants according to §§ 23, 44 BHO for the implementation of measures within the framework of the future investment program (PDF)
  69. ↑ Printed matter no. 1610816: Notification template : WorldCCBonn: 14th completion report of the client for budget and cost control of the completion of the WorldCCBonn conference center as of January 29 , 2016 of March 9, 2016 Online PDF / Online in the Bonn Council and Information System
  70. ↑ Printed matter no. 1611294: Communication template: Items from the closed meeting on April 15, 2016 Online PDF / Online in the Bonn Council and Information System
  71. ↑ Printed matter no. 1711810NV2: Notification template: 2nd controlling report of the conference center / Beethovenhalle office on the reference date: June 30 , 2017 from September 5, 2017 Online PDF / Online in the Bonn Council and Information System
  72. ↑ Wlan in the WCCB has to be upgraded , General-Anzeiger , August 21, 2017
  73. ↑ Printed matter no. 1711810NV3: Notification template: 3rd controlling report of the conference center / Beethovenhalle office as of the reference date: 30.09.2017 from November 27, 2017 Online PDF / Online in the Bonn Council and Information System
  74. ^ Trouble with the pigeons ( Memento from August 10, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) In: General-Anzeiger Bonn online. August 9, 2016.
  75. ↑ Huge steel net should keep pigeons away from the WCCB passage. In: General-Anzeiger Bonn online. August 14, 2017.
  76. ↑ Welckerpassage: Curved stainless steel net between CCB and GOP , Bonnvisio
  77. ↑ Under-hang ceiling for Welckerpassage ready , city of Bonn
  78. ↑ WCCB Hotel changes hands. In: Kölnische Rundschau . 15th August 2014.
  79. ↑ Shell for variety theater in WCCB is in place . In: General-Anzeiger Bonn online . Retrieved April 19, 2016.
  80. ↑ Completion of the WCCB hotel is getting closer. In: General-Anzeiger Bonn online. June 18, 2014.
  81. ↑ More than 170 countries want to discuss strategies against desertification and alleviating the effects of drought in Bonn , UNCCD, June 6, 2000
  82. ^ President of the UN General Assembly comes to Bonn for the opening of the desert conference , UNIC , December 8, 2000
  83. ↑ Federal Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel opens 9th UN Nature Conservation Conference in Bonn , Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety , May 19, 2008
  84. ↑ Special preview of the press appointments of the Federal Environment Ministry during the 9th UN Nature Conservation Conference in Bonn ( memento of the original from January 19, 2018 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF), Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.bfn.de
  85. ^ EPP Congress in Bonn: Remembering the unification of Germany and Europe at a historic location , press release by the City of Bonn, November 26, 2009
  86. ↑ 4,000 officials take care of the security at the Afghanistan conference , General-Anzeiger , November 30, 2011
  87. ^ Bonn Climate Change Conference - June 2015 , UNFCCC
  88. ↑ Address at the State Act for Federal Minister a. D. Hans-Dietrich Genscher , The Federal President
  89. ↑ This is how the G20 meeting in Bonn went , General-Anzeiger , February 17, 2017
  90. ^ Party conference of the Left for the first time in Bonn , General-Anzeiger , February 22, 2019
  91. ^ [Contribution by] Monika Gommolla in: Jörg Damm, Karin Eßer (Hrsg.): Course correction: Architecture and change in Bonn . Hatje Cantz, Ostfildern-Ruit 2002, ISBN 3-7757-1269-0 , p. 49.
  92. ↑ Printed matter no. 0013404: Resolution proposal: Internationales Kongresszentrum Bundeshaus Bonn (IKBB) - here: Start of the combined operator selection and planning process on November 20, 2000 Online PDF / Online in the Bonn Council and Information System
  93. ↑ Bernd Leyendecker: Another delay at the Bonn Congress Center , General-Anzeiger , November 1, 2002
  94. ↑ Berliners are supposed to operate Bonn's Bundeshaus , General-Anzeiger , September 25, 2003
  95. ↑ Answer of the Bonn city administration of April 10, 2010 to a request from the Citizens' Federation of Bonn (BBB)
  96. ^ Entry by Elke Janßen-Schnabel on Saemischstraße Bonn in the database " KuLaDig " of the Rhineland Regional Association , accessed on December 29, 2017.

Coordinates: 50 ° 43 ′ 10 ″  N , 7 ° 7 ′ 27 ″  E