The Federal Council took a decision in principle in favour of the innovation park on Wednesday. To this end, it plans to reserve 70 hectares in Dübendorf. Today's military airdrome is also to be used for civil aviation in the future.
The end of today's Dübendorf military airport is to become the Zurich hub of the national Swiss Innovation Park. The Federal Council has reserved an area of about 70 hectares to this end. It is to be made available to the Canton of Zurich in several stages. By the end of 2014, the details of this land designation are to be clarified; the Federal Council will then decide in the specific nationwide design of the national innovation park and refer the matter to parliament.
To this end, the Federal Council took a decision in principle on Wednesday: the Swiss innovation park is to start with two hub and network sites each.
The two hub sites are in the area of ETH Zurich and EPF Lausanne. Here, a different design model is intended for the Dübendorf (Zurich hub) than for the Lausanne hub, informs the Federal Council. The project of the Canton of Aargau (with the involvement of the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI) and the project of North-Western Switzerland (Cantons of Basel-Stadt, Basel-Landschaft and Jura, which also involves the ETH Zurich Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering D-BSSE) are intended as network locations. The Federal Council confirmed a corresponding concept developed by the cantons.
The State Secretariat SERI will now finalise a dispatch for the Swiss innovation park. The debate about this matter is scheduled in parliament for 2015.
Civil airfield
Furthermore, the Federal Council has decided that the military airfield may also be used as a civil airfield in the future. To this end, the federal government plans to initiate agreement negotiations with Flugplatz Dübendorf AG about the operation of the future airfield with a federal basis. An operation period of 30 years is planned.
The future airfield is to be available to business flights, light aviation and works flights in particular. Furthermore, the army will continue to be stationed at the airfield with a helicopter base and the Swiss air rescue service Rega. "This concept makes a commercial operation possible without the environment of the airfield coming under excessive strain from the flight operations," writes the Federal Council. Zurich welcomes the commitment
In a media release the Government Council of the Canton of Zurich welcomes the decision to provide the Canton of Zurich will 70 hectares of land on the Dübendorf airfield for the Zurich innovation park. "The release of the land by the federal government is an important step. It allows creating the spatial planning and organisational foundations for the Zurich hub site as part of the national innovation park in good time by mid-2015."
The cantonal government notes with regret, however, that the federal government aims to use the previous military airfield as a civil aerodrome with a federal basis. It continues to have reservations over the planned flight operations.
ETH Zurich has supported the innovation park in Dübendorf since 2004 with planning, comparison and feasibility studies and is collaborating closely with the Swiss Innovation Park association and the cantons in specifying the project.
To this end, the Federal Council took a decision in principle on Wednesday: the Swiss innovation park is to start with two hub and network sites each.
The two hub sites are in the area of ETH Zurich and EPF Lausanne. Here, a different design model is intended for the Dübendorf (Zurich hub) than for the Lausanne hub, informs the Federal Council. The project of the Canton of Aargau (with the involvement of the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI) and the project of North-Western Switzerland (Cantons of Basel-Stadt, Basel-Landschaft and Jura, which also involves the ETH Zurich Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering D-BSSE) are intended as network locations. The Federal Council confirmed a corresponding concept developed by the cantons.
The State Secretariat SERI will now finalise a dispatch for the Swiss innovation park. The debate about this matter is scheduled in parliament for 2015.
Civil airfield
Furthermore, the Federal Council has decided that the military airfield may also be used as a civil airfield in the future. To this end, the federal government plans to initiate agreement negotiations with Flugplatz Dübendorf AG about the operation of the future airfield with a federal basis. An operation period of 30 years is planned.
The future airfield is to be available to business flights, light aviation and works flights in particular. Furthermore, the army will continue to be stationed at the airfield with a helicopter base and the Swiss air rescue service Rega. "This concept makes a commercial operation possible without the environment of the airfield coming under excessive strain from the flight operations," writes the Federal Council. Zurich welcomes the commitment
In a media release the Government Council of the Canton of Zurich welcomes the decision to provide the Canton of Zurich will 70 hectares of land on the Dübendorf airfield for the Zurich innovation park. "The release of the land by the federal government is an important step. It allows creating the spatial planning and organisational foundations for the Zurich hub site as part of the national innovation park in good time by mid-2015."
The cantonal government notes with regret, however, that the federal government aims to use the previous military airfield as a civil aerodrome with a federal basis. It continues to have reservations over the planned flight operations.
ETH Zurich has supported the innovation park in Dübendorf since 2004 with planning, comparison and feasibility studies and is collaborating closely with the Swiss Innovation Park association and the cantons in specifying the project.
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