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The Series of Breakdowns, the Revolving Door and the Fragile Stabilization of the AGG

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clarus.news | Analysis | June 5, 2026

*by Thierry Leserf and Andreas Binggeli

Women's hospital, police center, university campus, a collapsed factory hall, a lifting floor slab, almost a thousand bridges in need of renovation: The list of construction projects in the Canton of Bern that got out of hand is long. At the center stands the Office for Real Estate and Buildings (AGG) – an office that the Audit Commission described in 2021 as a «chronically ill patient» and which has since worn out three cantonal architects. The official assessment reads: stabilized. But the GPK continues to demand reports, the project pipeline is worth billions – and since April 1, 2026, the office has a new political leader. An inventory on the core question: Can the Canton of Bern actually build?

The Record of Breakdowns

Anyone reviewing Bern's construction history of recent years finds a pattern that repeats with disturbing regularity: cost explosions, schedule delays, unclear liability.

The most spectacular legacy case is provided by the Women's Hospital of the Inselspital. The planning contract dates from 1978, the competition was won in 1983 by a Zurich team without hospital construction experience. In 1993, voters approved a 111-million credit. The result: The structural engineering was so deficient that the building faced collapse in case of an earthquake. The renovation estimate climbed from 6 to 12, then 40, and finally 57 million, then the board of directors of the Insel Group approved an additional credit of 63 million. In the end, the renovation cost 187 million francs – 67 million more than the new construction itself. An expert report attributed the construction defects to planning deficiencies; the client was the then Department of Construction, Transport and Energy.

The more recent cases show that the pattern is not historical:

  • Police Center Niederwangen (PZB): Due to problems with the building ground, costs rose from 270 to 373 million francs. The construction delay continues.
  • Factory Building Tavannes Machines: Purchased for 6.2 million, it subsequently proved to be at risk of collapse. Hundreds of metal supports now secure the ceilings; the building was sealed by building police. The construction commission of the Grand Council expressed astonishment that the structural defects only became known after the purchase – due to political pressure and time urgency, detailed investigations had been foregone.
  • Triple Hall Interlaken: A floor slab lifted 60 centimeters due to groundwater. Consequence: construction stop, 7 million additional costs, unclear liability.
  • Campus Bern (University of Applied Sciences Weyermannshaus): In 2022, the Grand Council approved 351.7 million, two years later an additional 44.2 million had to be approved. Additionally, the site is contaminated with PFAS chemicals.
  • Bridge Renovation Backlog: The Civil Engineering Office speaks of a «bow wave» – 992 bridges in the cantonal road network, the maintenance requirement significantly exceeds previous resources.

However, another project provided the trigger for the actual crisis: the Campus Biel/Bienne of the Bern University of Applied Sciences.

The Campus Biel Case: From Fiasco to Groundbreaking

Opening was originally planned for 2022, groundbreaking was in March 2018 – but construction did not begin for a long time. First, the owner of a required parcel fought against expropriation, then the building permit was missing. The general contractor tender finally had to be cancelled due to massive budget overruns. The project became a symbol of cantonal construction failure and resulted in years of delays and additional costs in the millions.

But here also lies the most positive news of recent times: After approval of additional credits and a construction start in spring 2024, the official groundbreaking was celebrated on May 6, 2025. The construction phase has been running visibly and according to the canton on schedule since then. The most prominent crisis case is thus – with years of delay – back on track.

Is the AGG Overwhelmed by Major Projects?

The sober answer is: The problem is less an office that «cannot build» than a structural mismatch between workload and resources.

The AGG employs around 100 staff and simultaneously oversees about 350 construction projects. It manages a real estate portfolio with a total value of around 6.2 billion francs – from administrative buildings to schools, hospitals and prisons to castles and mountains. The project pipeline in building construction alone moves in the billion range; a single division sometimes realizes buildings worth 1.6 billion francs.

The 2021 GPK report already identified the core cause: Personnel had declined over years while the number of complex major projects increased significantly. This gap – shrinking personnel resources with growing project complexity – is not a Bern special case but a structural problem of many Swiss cantonal administrations.

SVP Grand Councilor Markus Aebi formulated the political accusation pointedly: The canton lacks know-how for major projects, and there is a lack of willingness to implement projects within the approved costs. As structural main causes for breakdowns and additional costs, three factors are considered overarching: time pressure, limited competition and lack of expertise. The frequent outsourcing to external project managers and specialist controllers – the AGG has been working with external client consulting for years – is simultaneously symptom and risk: It compensates for the thin internal personnel coverage but increases information losses between external planners and internal administration.

«Overwhelmed» is therefore the wrong category. More accurate is: chronically under-resourced for a task load that continues to grow politically.

Why the High Turnover?

The personnel instability at the office leadership is striking and one of the hardest findings overall. Within a few years, the AGG wore through its leadership multiple times:

  • Until 2020: Cantonal architect Angelo Cioppi is suspended by Construction Director Christoph Neuhaus in June 2020 after the Campus Biel debacle became public.
  • April 2021 – February 2025: Successor Lorenz Held starts on April 1, 2021 – and leaves the office at the end of February 2025. At the same time, his two deputies Stephan Lanter and Beat Keller leave.
  • From May 2025: Dominik Frei takes over as current office holder on May 1, 2025.

The simultaneous departure of office head and both deputies in spring 2025 – in the middle of realizing construction projects worth billions – is remarkable. Construction Director Neuhaus himself admitted this brain drain would lead to «temporary instability».

The causes are not conclusively documented, but the pattern suggests a self-reinforcing spiral: An initial crisis (Campus Biel) leads to suspension and intensified control; the increased control regime and constant pressure make the leadership positions unattractive; departures create new instability, which in turn increases pressure. Anyone who has to lead an office under permanent parliamentary observation with a tight personnel coverage has a job that is hard to maintain.

The Stabilization – and Its Limits

The crisis was followed by a three-year reform phase, and its record actually turns out positive. The GPK confirmed in 2023 that the AGG had hired additional personnel, standardized processes and introduced a new leadership and office culture. The BVD took ten GPK recommendations seriously and implemented them. By 2025, all processes should be cleaned up – and from then on, no more orders for client representation should be awarded to third parties. The dependence on external service providers should thus systematically decrease.

The Grand Council had decided on flanking immediate measures: targeted increase of specialist personnel, better data foundations in real estate controlling and clear assignment of cost responsibility. A significant lever was the forced digitization of construction and real estate – consistent digital workflows and modern controlling tools are to professionalize cost and schedule control. At the beginning of 2026, the AGG also put its sustainability strategy 2026–2035 into force, aligned with a climate-neutral cantonal administration by 2040.

However, the stabilization is not unconditionally anchored. The GPK did not accept the roadmap conclusively: Because much work continues, it demanded another implementation report from the BVD. This signals persistent mistrust despite formal improvements – and it is the crucial open flank. As long as the control instance itself follows up, trust restoration is not yet achieved.

The Political Change of Power – A New Factor

Over this administrative dynamic, a new political constellation has been laid since spring 2026. In the government council elections, the longtime Construction Director Christoph Neuhaus (SVP) did not run again. Since April 1, 2026, Evi Allemann (SP) has led the Department of Construction and Transport – the SP thus takes over the directorate considered important from the SVP after eight years. Allemann, previously Justice Director and former VCS President, announced she wants to move forward with climate-friendly construction and transport projects.

This means: Responsibility for the billion-franc project pipeline and the not yet completed AGG reform now lies with a new director with a different party political agenda – and with an office head (Frei) who has only been in office since May 2025. Exactly at the moment when the GPK demands continuity in implementation, political leadership changes. This is not per se a risk, but creates a responsibility gap that will need to be observed parliamentarily.

Conclusion: Building Yes – Mastering Not Yet Consistently

Can the Canton of Bern build? The honest answer is differentiated. The canton realizes major projects – the re-launched Campus Biel proves it. The acute crisis of the AGG is averted, operational processes are stabilized, the office functions again today as a capable client.

What the canton does not yet consistently master is reliable cost and schedule control for complex projects. The breakdowns are not the work of individual incapable persons, but expression of a structural pattern: too little internal expertise, too much time pressure, too little competition, too thin personnel coverage for a politically growing project load. The reform has addressed symptoms; whether it changes the structure will only be decided by the ongoing billion pipeline.

The real test therefore does not lie behind but ahead of the office: Police Center Niederwangen, Campus Weyermannshaus with its PFAS legacy contamination, the bridge renovation backlog and dozens of other projects must be brought to completion without new disruptions – under new political leadership and under the watchful eyes of a GPK that is not yet letting up.

The Canton of Bern can build. Whether it can do so without recurring crises is the open question of the decade.

Key Messages

  • The Bern construction crisis is not an isolated case, but a structural pattern: Cost explosions and delays extend from the Women's Hospital (final costs 187 million) through the Police Center Niederwangen (270 → 373 million) to Campus Biel.
  • The AGG is not «incapable» but chronically under-resourced: around 100 employees, around 350 projects, a portfolio of 6.2 billion francs – the gap between personnel and project load is the core cause.
  • The leadership turnover at the office head (three cantonal architects since 2020, simultaneous departure of the entire leadership in 2025) is simultaneously symptom and amplifier of the crisis.
  • The stabilization is real but fragile: Ten GPK recommendations implemented, processes standardized – but the GPK demands another implementation report, indicating incomplete anchoring.
  • With the change to Construction Director Evi Allemann (SP) as of April 1, 2026, a new political leadership bears responsibility for the incomplete reform and the billion-franc pipeline.

Critical Questions

  1. (Evidence/Measurability) What metrics did the GPK use to assess «improvement»? Are the milestones by 2025 – process cleanup and reduction of client representation contracts to third parties – measurable and publicly trackable?
  2. (Incentives/Independence) To what extent is the BVD under pressure to show success to ward off political accusations of incompetence – and could this lead to an exaggeration of progress?
  3. (Causality/Counter-hypothesis) Was the personnel deficit or leadership chaos the primary cause of the Campus Biel delay – or was there a project design problem that cannot be solved by mere personnel increase?
  4. (Data Quality) How is the «new office culture» measured, and is there a risk that employees under the increased control regime lose innovative capacity?
  5. (Feasibility/Alternatives) Why is it not examined whether major projects should fundamentally be outsourced to a separate, specialized unit, instead of reintegrating them into the reformed regular bureaucracy?
  6. (Risks/Side Effects) Does the political leadership change to the new Construction Director – in the middle of ongoing reform and with an office head only in office since May 2025 – create a responsibility gap in implementation continuity?
  7. (Conflicts of Interest) How independent is the success evaluation when the same directorate both takes responsibility for the reform and reports on its progress?

Bibliography

Primary Source: «Chronically ill patient» – Commission finds improvements at crisis-ridden office – Berner Zeitung, 09.05.2023 – https://www.bernerzeitung.ch/kommission-stellt-verbesserungen-bei-kriselndem-amt-fest-224338598687

Supplementary Sources:

  1. GPK Report 2021 on AGG («urgent need for action»; Grand Council debate June 2021, «chronically ill patient»)
  2. Bern Administrative Analysis AGG, as of June 2026 (Campus Biel groundbreaking 06.05.2025; Sustainability Strategy 2026–2035; climate-neutral cantonal administration by 2040)
  3. Documentation AGG Leadership Turnover (Berner Zeitung 17.09.2020 and 20.12.2024; BVD Press Release 20.03.2025; blue News December 2024)
  4. Documentation Construction Project Breakdowns (Women's Hospital: Berner Zeitung 15.07./06.07.2022, Tagblatt 14.04.2018, Medinside/Der Bund 2022; Tavannes Machines: blue News/Baublatt Nov. 2024; Niederwangen/Interlaken: blue News Dec. 2024; Campus Weyermannshaus: Platform J May 2025; Campus Biel: SRF 14.06.2021; Bridges: TBAupdate March 2021)
  5. SWI swissinfo / Platform J / Der Bund, 01.04.2026: Evi Allemann (SP) takes over Department of Construction and Transport from Christoph Neuhaus (SVP)
  6. Office for Real Estate and Buildings / Department of Construction and Transport Canton Bern, bvd.be.ch (Portfolio 6.2 billion CHF; around 100 employees; around 350 projects; ISO 9001/14001)

Verification Status: ✓ 05.06.2026

This text was created with the support of an AI model. Editorial responsibility: clarus.news | Fact-checking: 05.06.2026

Tags: #CantonBern #AGG #ConstructionProjects #CampusBiel #GPK #BVD #EviAllemann #ChristophNeuhaus #CostControl #PublicAdministration #RealEstateManagement #PoliceCenter #WomensHospital

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