War refugees from the Ukraine are also to be accommodated at the Berlin exhibition center.
“It is currently important to quickly provide the many arriving people with a bed and the bare essentials before they are taken to suitable accommodation,” said the spokesman for Messe Berlin, Emanuel Höger, on Thursday on request.
In the short term, a temporary overnight stay is being created in Berlin’s Westend on the exhibition grounds. “Messe Berlin and the German Red Cross (DRK) will prepare the lower level of Hall 11.1 and Hall 17 under the radio tower for the initial care of the arriving refugees,” said Höger. “These two halls are logistically convenient and easy to reach.”
The spokesman for the DRK Berlin, Karsten Hintzmann, said that volunteers from the DRK were in the process of preparing the first hall so that the first refugees could move in there on Thursday.
In Hall 11.1 there is space for around 600 people. The aim is to use the second hall as well. “Then we can go up to 1000 seats.”
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According to trade fair spokesman Höger, the accommodation options for refugees will have no effect on the planned spring trade fairs such as Fruit Logistica or Bus2Bus. “They will take place in the exhibition halls planned for this purpose.”
Höger said that preparations for the new arrival center at the former Tegel Airport were already underway. “Messe Berlin provides support with planning, coordination and set-up.”
DRK spokesman Hintzmann added that the start date for the arrival center in north-west Berlin is not yet certain – probably Sunday or Monday.