Berne: EWB redevelops the Gaswerk site
On the former Gaswerk site, one of the largest development areas in the city of Berne, the first preparatory work for the planned development has begun.
The City of Bern intends to develop the Gaswerk site into a diverse and lively urban quarter with urban mixed use, public open spaces and attractive natural areas. A total of 300 to 500 apartments and various commercial spaces are to be built.
As the site was used for industrial purposes for decades - the gasworks produced gas there for 90 years - it is polluted in places with gasworks waste and residues from gas cleaning. For this reason, the former landowner Energie Wasser Bern (EWB) is redeveloping the site. The work will begin at the end of August and is scheduled for completion in spring 2024.
According to EWB, a central area of the site between the Monbijou Bridge and the Gaskessel Youth and Cultural Centre is particularly heavily polluted and in need of remediation in terms of groundwater protection. The subsoil is therefore to be excavated to a depth of five to eleven metres over an area of around 5,000 square metres, after which the excavation pit is to be backfilled. (ah)
