The supervisory board of the Berlin Brandenburg airport has set a revised date of October 2020 for its opening.
This is nearly a decade after the original 2011 planned opening and follows years of mounting delays.
There has been no firm opening date set for the airport since it abandoned a planned 2017 start.
“As a result of the intensive discussion, a consensus was reached indicating that a responsible and valid assessment is now available which provides a realistic basis for further work until commissioning,” the board said in a statement.
In addition to the aspects of the construction schedule and associated processing of the remaining deficiencies in building services, the financing issues arising from the opening date were also discussed.
For this purpose, it was agreed that it was necessary to determine the exact additional financing needs as quickly as possible on the basis of the opening date.
Berlin Brandenburg will use all available options for equity and debt financing.
The board will be advised in its meeting at the beginning of March 2018 about the additional financing required until opening.
Rainer Bretschneider, chairman of the supervisory board, said: “I am convinced of the validity of the current planning.
“Now it will be important to implement the planning properly and purposefully.
“It is about winning back lost trust.”
Berlin Brandenburg was developed to replace both Tegel and Schonefeld airports in the city.
However, things have not gone to plan, leaving Berlin short of airport space.
A planned inauguration was cancelled just weeks before it was due to open in June 2012, as a result of concerns over the fire-protection system.
Multiple new target dates were subsequently set – and all were abandoned.
Engelbert Lütke Daldrup, chief executive, Berlin Brandenburg Airport, added: “Today’s board meeting marks the start of the final phase of the terminal’s completion, and thus the start of BER.
“It is important that the board gave its support to the opening date of October 2020 after an engaging debate.
“The schedule is authoritative and reliable.
“This allows us to achieve both security and orientation.”