AACHEN’S UNIVERSITY CAMPUS

[EDU: Aachen, December 17]
In contradistinction to what has been happening elsewhere, the Aachen University campus, a billion-euro project which has been planned, debated and discussed for four years, is now about to take off. In less than ten hours after the Aachen council had met for the first section on the attraction of new companies and research associations in Melaten, on Thursday the university started on its major project to be built in the Euroregional tri-point. Construction will start in March on the foundations for the first science and economics location in the expanded campus of the university and the university hospital.

‘This is a great day for research and development’, said the campus project director and pro-rector, Günther Schuh, after the university rector Ernst Schmachtenberg had given the official start for the acquisition of six clusters. The construction plan is for 473,000m2 area.

Eighty-eight companies will be established there, including 18 international concerns, and 31 university departments, including a teaching area of the Aachen University, have made plans for a long-term presence in Melaten. An eight to ten building complex with 60,000m2 of floor space will arise. A cluster will include works on research and production, optical technology, logistics, energy, integrated production technology, biomedical technology and heavy-duty drive systems.

In the long term, the city and the university hope that the campus project in the West and Melaten will provide 5,500 jobs.

http://www.rwth-aachen.de/