The mega project for a cable car to the Kahlenberg was suspended by the Federal Administrative Court on Friday. The Supreme Court has now ruled that an environmental impact assessment is certainly necessary.
A judge has upheld an earlier complaint from various environmental protection organizations and representatives of citizens’ initiatives. Opponents of the project complained in June against a decision by the city of Vienna.
“Important victory” for cable car critics
The matter will now be “remitted to the concerned authority for issuance of a fresh decision,” according to the court’s current decision. “Genial Tourismus- und Projektentwicklung GmbH” now has six weeks to appeal the court’s decision.
“The BVwG’s decision clearly confirms our legal argument,” said lawyer Fiona List-Faymann, who represents opponents of the project. According to the lawyer, the decision of the responsible magistrate 22 was unlawful. “This is an important victory and we are sure that further proceedings will demonstrate the cable car’s lack of environmental friendliness,” List-Faymann explains.
In an interview with krone.at, she explains that the BVwG’s decision revealed “several illegalities”. Not only are land protection areas affected, the planned Park&Ride facility would also lead to additional emissions, etc. MA 22 is now required to initiate an “extremely detailed investigation” of this project, the lawyer explains: “That is what we have wished in mind. And if you look at it seriously, you see that this cable car is not environmentally friendly.”
Operators expect “quite a long process”
The project’s operators interpret the decision slightly differently and consider the issue of environmental impact assessment as still open. “The fact that the court itself does not carry out the necessary investigation, but has referred the case back to the EIA authority of the city of Vienna, unfortunately leads to further delays for our project,” says Hannes Dejaco, Managing Director of Genial Tourismus. – und Projektentwicklung GmbH, disappointed.
Nevertheless, he is confident that “at the end of a process that will probably take quite a long time” and regardless of the final procedure followed, it will be determined whether all approval criteria are met by the Kahlenberg cable car.
Strong headwind for the gondola lift
After a process that lasted almost a year, the city of Vienna decided that no EIA was needed for the project. The State Environmental Prosecutor’s Office, three NGOs and residents of Floridsdorf and Kahlenbergerdorf subsequently filed a complaint with the Federal Administrative Court.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
