Cantonal Council clearly approves loans

The loans for the expansion and development of the research campus and for the continuation of aviation in Dübendorf received very clear majorities in Parliament.

The further operation of the airstrip in Dübendorf is more controversial than the innovation park itself.

Christian Beutler / Keystone

In the end, approval of the canton’s plans in Dübendorf was very clear. With 151 against 6 votes from the ranks of SVP and Greens, the cantonal council approved the commitment credit for the Zurich Innovation Park. A little less clear is the approval of the aviation concept. Here the result is 131 against 23 votes from the Greens and AL.

Markus Bischoff (AL, Zurich), President of the 16-strong Innovation Park special commission, initially emphasized that it was necessary for the canton to make advance payments during the development phase and bear the financial risk. This applies above all to the development and start-up aid for the Innovation Park Foundation. Later, however, they will set up and operate the research campus with private companies.

Part of the commitment credit is reserved for loans that have to be repaid in 20 years at the latest. Bischoff put the costs for the canton at 56 million at best. The highest risk is around 110 million francs, which also includes opening up the airport via a new road to the Oberlandautobahn.

Bischoff’s conclusion that the innovation park, including the test and research airfield, is a sensible future use of the area, only raised a few fundamental objections. The Greens did this most clearly, refusing to continue flight operations. It sounded a little more reserved in the SVP, in which the plans had never triggered a storm of enthusiasm, as their spokesman Christian Lucek (SVP, Dänikon) explained: The state should not invest in castles in the air, nor should a test-tube town be built in Dübendorf.

«Fine soup»

Lucek, an Air Force on-board operator based in Dübendorf, commented positively that the aviation concept furthered the use of the runway for aviation. For the SVP, the innovation park only exists with a commitment to aviation. For the Greens, Karin Fehr (Uster) confirmed the approval of the innovation park; more ecological research is needed. For the Greens, however, civilian flight operations are just a dream that never pays off.

For the other factions, the advantages of the future plans for the airfield set out in a comprehensive synthesis report outweigh the disadvantages. Harry Brandenberger (SP, Gossau) said that many chefs had prepared a fine soup here, even if the SP still found a hair or two in it. Doris Meier (FDP, Bassersdorf) spoke of a forward-looking project for research in Zurich and Switzerland.

The airfield area becomes a recreation area for the population

Open space concept Nature, environment and landscape

The airfield area becomes a recreation area for the population - open space concept nature, environment and landscape

The GLP spokeswoman Cristina Cortellini (Dietlikon) differentiated her party from the Greens with the remark that her group was clearly in favor of the further use of the aviation infrastructure in Dübendorf. The goal is to develop mobility carriers of the future. Similar to the statements of the center and the EPP, where it was emphasized that a no to the aviation concept would mean the end of the operation of the runway in the medium term.

Opinions differ greatly within the SVP faction. Two of their representatives from Dübendorf, where the local party is fighting the innovation park, spoke out sharply. Orlando Wyss spoke of a megalomaniac project that would harm the city. Patrick Walder said the current situation is perfect, but the innovation park with up to 10,000 jobs will increase rents and cause major traffic problems.

Her parliamentary colleague Marcel Suter (Thalwil) considers this criticism incomprehensible. Business in Dübendorf and the region will benefit significantly from the innovation park. It is now a question of giving the project a political boost.

Innovation cannot be decreed, so construction director Martin Neukom (Greens) took up the criticism from the SVP. But he added: The state can create framework conditions that favor research and development. “We always believed in the innovation park,” said Economics Director Carmen Walker Späh (FDP). She emphasized that the project will be developed step by step and that the political and business risks have been carefully weighed up.

Few dissenting votes

In the vote, the SVP’s two minority motions for a reduction in the loan had just as little chance as the attempt by the Greens to reduce the amount by half. With regard to the aviation concept and the 8 million loan for the development of the basis for decision-making, Walker Späh emphasized that in a few years the council could definitely decide whether the canton wanted to tackle this task.

The two loans are now subject to an optional referendum. The separate template for adjusting the structure plan entry for the innovation park had to be postponed until next week due to time constraints.

The airfield area will also be a topic of discussion in the near future for other reasons. In the summer, the government council decided to look for a location in Dübendorf for the planned new cantonal school in Glatttal. Commission President Bischoff announced on Monday that a temporary school building would be built on the airfield first. This immediately triggered criticism, although Bischoff specified that the definitive canton school could not later be built on the airfield site for planning reasons.

source site-111