Berlin airport hired fake engineer to design fire system
The man who designed a malfunctioning smoke extraction system at Berlin Brandenburg Airport – one of the reasons for the delayed airport opening – was not a trained engineer, German journalists revealed.
It’s still unclear how a person without engineering
qualifications could hold a key position at Berlin’s new airport
for around eight years, being entrusted with the designing of the
fire safety system there.
Alfredo di Mauro, 52, was in the job from 2006 up to May 2014,
when he was fired. The airport’s leadership explained his
dismissal by "serious deficiencies" in the project di
Mauro was engaged in, saying trust in him was "now finally
broken."
In 2012, the opening of Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER) was
canceled because of malfunctioning of the fire safety and smoke
exhaust systems. The failures have still not been rectified.
Stern magazine said in its Tuesday’s exclusive report that di
Mauro was not a qualified engineer, but only an engineering
draftsman. Di Mauro said allegations of fraud on his part were
“completely absurd” and explained the whole situation as a
misunderstanding.
"I had business cards, where it stood,” di Mauro said in
a statement. “That was a mistake. They have all taken me for
an engineer. Because I have not contradicted that."
In an interview to Spreeradio, cited by the Local, Di Mauro said
an engineering qualification “wasn’t necessary for the work
we carried out.”
The deficient fire system is not the first professional failure
in Di Mauro’s career, according to Stern magazine. In 2002, he
was engaged in construction of a medical center in the German
town of Offenbach. Lack of drainage in the underground garage of
the building led to it being flooded.
"[Di Mauro] introduced himself to us as an architect,"
Dr. Ileana Mitrenca said.
Di Mauro denied both the allegations of bad planning and of
presenting himself as an architect in that case.
Initially, the opening of the Berlin Brandenburg Airport was
scheduled for 2010. Construction deadlines have however been
since then postponed several times.
The price tag for what should become the third-busiest airport in
Germany has been growing. It’s now estimated to cost 5.4 billion
euro - 1.1 billion more than was previously approved. No date has
currently been fixed for the airport’s opening.
Germans have sarcastically been calling the project not Flughafen
(airport) but Fluchhafen (cursed-port).
