In the space of just eight years, Bayernoil has sold off all of the 108-hectare site that formerly housed its refinery in Ingolstadt. The demolition, restoration and construction preparations were largely financed from the proceeds of the sale. However, before the sale could proceed, a number of 120-meter tall chimneys, 60 above-ground and below-ground tanks, 140 kilometers of pipeline and 50,000 cubic meters of concrete had to be demolished and removed from the site.
With an intelligent combination of cutting-edge restoration techniques, a consistent focus on efficiency and a smart recycling concept, Arcadis was able to plan and manage an almost cost-neutral demolition.
The city of Ingolstadt, a large development company and local businesses are all set to profit from the space gained. This integrated approach to restoration and site development saved both time and money. Upon completion of the work, the city of Ingolstadt will have a valuable urban planning resource for trade, commerce, sport, housing and leisure at its disposal — and Bayernoil will have succeeded in completing a major industrial divestment with impressive economic efficiency.
Just a few years ago, the soccer field that is now home to FC Ingolstadt 04 still housed the enormous tanks of a crude oil refinery. But the owners of refinery operator Bayernoil decided to consolidate their operations and focus on sites at Neustadt and Vohburg. This meant that production at the Ingolstadt refinery would end and the site would close. The aim was to leave the site efficiently and cost-effectively with minimal environmental impact. A dense network of industrial installations—complete with countless pipelines, ducts, tanks and machines—had to be dismantled. Large parts of the site had been sealed with hundreds of thousands of cubic meters of concrete and asphalt, and the substrate was contaminated to varying degrees with mineral oil hydrocarbons.
With its wide and holistic portfolio of services, Arcadis was involved in all phases of the project. Bayernoil was able to source all of the services it needed from a single provider: including strategic real estate advice, project management (cost, deadline and quality control), permit-related activities, restoration and demolition planning, authority management, transaction management (buyer sourcing, sales negotiations and sale contract management), and public relations and lobbying work.
Working in phases allowed the later stages of the project to be financed by the preceding steps, creating a financing model that was highly economically efficient. The decisions and contracts prepared by Arcadis were coordinated directly with the decision-makers. Early contact and close coordination with the Ingolstadt authorities, political committees and the administrative bodies, combined with high-quality, proactive public relations work, laid the foundations for the acceptance of the project and the understanding of the process that would be so crucial to its success.
This conversion project draws one chapter in Bavaria's industrial history to a close — while opening up a new chapter in the story of the development of Ingolstadt. Bayernoil was able to fulfill all of the responsibilities it had as a business: its responsibility to the environment, through the restoration and preparation for reuse of a developed and sealed site; its responsibility to society, through the improvement of an urban area; and finally its financial responsibilities, through the optimized value creation structure. Ingolstadt has gained a new area for commerce, industry, sport and nature — without having to claim space from existing natural habitats. And a large industrial business has gained some urgently needed space to expand.
© Horst Schalles
