Start of construction in 2025

Executive gets new security center in Vienna

On Wednesday, the Council of Ministers approved the construction of a new security center for the law enforcement agencies. It will be built in the 12th district of Vienna on the site of the Meidling barracks. It will house the Directorate of State Security, intelligence services and the Federal Criminal Police Office.

It will also house the Federal Bureau for Preventing and Combating Corruption, the Digital Services Directorate, Cobra Vienna and units for combating cybercrime. A company kindergarten will also be established at the site. The security center will turn five locations into one, Interior Minister Gerhard Karner was pleased to report. This will make us more efficient and effective.

Construction to start in 2025, completion in 2031 at the earliest
It will still take some time before the project is realized. According to the Minister of the Interior, construction is scheduled to begin in 2025. It will then take six to seven years to complete, with the move taking place in stages. In addition to the City of Vienna, Karner also thanked the Ministry of Defense. This is because the security center can only be built at the location in Meidling by restructuring the Bundesheer properties.

It was essentially decided on Wednesday that the Ministry of Defense can hand over the corresponding area to the Bundesimmobiliengesellschaft. This in turn will then lease it to the Ministry of the Interior. This means that nothing stands in the way of realization.

Military part of the Meidling barracks to be redesigned
Specifically, this involves the military part of the Meidling barracks, also known as the Heckenast Burian command building. A total of four hectares of the barracks, which are no longer required for military purposes, are to be sold to the Bundesimmobiliengesellschaft. According to the Ministry of Defense, the employees of the Austrian Armed Forces were informed of this project in advance and will move to new locations at the end of 2024.

Further locations to be modernized
The proceeds will be used to modernize further locations in Vienna, explained Defence Minister Klaudia Tanner (ÖVP). A total of 47.7 million euros, which will be made available through the sale, will be incorporated into future infrastructure plans as part of the "2032 development plan" and used for other Austrian Armed Forces properties.