Blick auf den ehemaligen Flughafen Tegel
© dpa
The Berlin Senate is negotiating with the German Armed Forces about the creation of new refugee accommodation on the site of the former Tegel Airport.
The Tegel Nord site, which is used by the German Armed Forces, could accommodate 2,000 to 3,000 refugees, said Integration Senator Cansel Kiziltepe (SPD).
Unlike the existing Tegel Refugee Centre, which currently has 6,500 places, the new project is quality-assured, decentralized accommodation in shared accommodation and not emergency accommodation, explained the SPD politician. The project has not yet been finalized, but: "We are in good talks." According to the integration administration, a good 4,100 people are currently living in the large Tegel accommodation facility, which is initially approved until the end of 2025. A further 2,500 places are available.
Kiziltepe reiterated her goal of reducing the size of the large Tegel emergency shelter, which mainly consists of lightweight halls. "We don't want to close Tegel completely, but we do want to reduce it significantly," she said. On the one hand, large emergency shelters such as Tegel or Tempelhof are not suitable places for integration and are very expensive. On the other hand, planned projects for the subsequent use of the airport site must be able to develop, including the Urban Tech Republic and a university as locations for science and innovation.