Audit required

S-Link company becomes a case for the inspection authority

The Citizens' List wants the inspection office to audit the S-Link company(Bild: Andreas Tröster)

Things have gone quiet around the major underground local rail extension project. The city's auditors are to investigate the management and findings of S-Link.

Since the people of Salzburg narrowly voted against the S-Link underground local railway extension in a referendum, the large-scale project has gone quiet. Politicians have canceled it with reference to the non-binding referendum. The project website is no longer available on the internet. However, the company behind the project is still active, at least officially.

It is currently being wound up, decided Transport Minister Stefan Schnöll (ÖVP) and Mayor Bernhard Auinger (SPÖ). The Citizens' List is today submitting a motion for the city's audit office to examine the company's financial management for the years 2021 to 2024. "We want to know what the whole thing ultimately cost and how it was managed," says Ingeborg Haller, leader of the Citizens' List. Another key question: "What happens to the knowledge that the company has gained?"

There was extensive planning and test drilling was also carried out. The results are now lying dormant in the company. Both the city and the state assured us that the findings should not be lost. How they will be secured for the future, however, is still an open question. On the other hand, the city's inspection office is already active when it comes to test drilling. The awarding of the drilling contracts is currently being examined.