The German Armed Forces will not begin construction on the former site of Marine Air Wing 5 in Kiel-Holtenau before 2028. NDR Schleswig-Holstein confirmed this, citing a timetable agreed by the city and federal government that envisages a possible start no earlier than 2028. Accordingly, no specific construction contracts or imminent groundbreaking date are in place.
For City of Kiel the postponement has immediate consequences. The Holtenau Ost redevelopment area was planned as a mixed-use neighbourhood with homes, businesses and green spaces. These municipal projects are being delayed while military land requirements remain unresolved. In the ongoing site dialogue the City of Kiel, the state of Schleswig-Holstein, the Federal Ministry of Defence, the Federal Agency for Real Estate (BImA) and the Federal Office of Bundeswehr Infrastructure, Environmental Protection and Services are negotiating over use, possible replacement sites and compensation. A declaration of intent records the parties’ willingness to talk, but does not replace legally binding decisions on planning approval, funding and construction.
Existing uses along the waterfront are particularly affected. For the Plüschow Harbour and other areas, interim arrangements are being discussed. According to the city, talks on lease and usage arrangements are continuing until an agreed land-use plan is in place. Legally, the key questions are which plots the Bundeswehr will reclaim and how quickly planning regulations can be amended.
The return of military use is politically controversial. Kiel city council committees have been discussing the scope and conditions of a possible deal for months. Reports about options for expropriation or the retransfer of land reflect the current stage of the reviews; no final decisions have been made. What is clear is that construction cannot begin without formal agreements between the federal, state and municipal governments, and without secured budget funding. The timeframe now given—2028 at the earliest—provides a basis for planning, but does not replace detailed decisions on land boundaries, infrastructure and connections.
For the City of Kiel’s housing and commercial property policy, this means examining alternative sites and extending the timetable for ongoing project plans. At the same time, the need for workable compromises with the Bundeswehr remains pressing. The scale of the future military presence in Kiel-Holtenau will only be decided in the next rounds of talks on the site and the subsequent procedures. Until then, the position is clear: construction by the Bundeswehr has not been cancelled, but has been firmly postponed.
Editor: Mira Cadena (Article created with AI assistance).