Federal Building Minister Barbara Hendricks participated today in a groundbreaking ceremony to mark the start of construction of the new US military hospital in Weilerbach (Rhineland-Palatinate). She emphasised the special significance of the project for relations between Germany and the United States, saying "This construction project is an impressive demonstration of the spirit of trust that characterises the close cooperation between Germany and the US." Lt. Gen. Donald Campbell Jr., the commanding general for U.S. Army Europe, as well as other representatives from the US military, the Land of Rhineland-Palatinate and the Kaiserslautern district also took part in the ceremony.
Hendricks stated that the presence of US forces in Germany for over sixty years has contributed to mutual understanding and a close friendship between Germany and the United States, adding that U.S. forces were also the source of a significant amount of investments. Alone in the construction projects carried out by the federal building authorities, these investments have amounted to an average of 350 million euros annually in recent years. Hendricks: "This is an important contribution to preserving German jobs, especially in regions that are economically relatively underdeveloped."
The hospital is one of the biggest projects carried out by federal building authorities for the U.S. forces. The project's budget is around 650 million euros. Germany's contribution to its implementation including planning costs is around 130 million euros. Extensive compensation measures to offset construction related interventions in nature and landscape will be undertaken, including afforestation. The U.S. side is making 12 million euros available for this.
The new military hospital will be built on the site of the former Weilerbach ammunition depot in direct proximity to Ramstein Air Base. Starting in 2022, it will replace the U.S. medical center in Landstuhl and the Ramstein Air Base Clinic. The hospital will provide medical care for wounded soldiers from Asia, Europe and Africa and for the approximately 60,000 U.S. citizens living near Kaiserslautern.