Korneuburg council picks firm to develop shipyard concept

Korneuburg’s council has backed a new concept for the former shipyard area, voting in favour of project development by CMb.industries. The motion passed with support from the ÖVP, FPÖ and NEOS; the SPÖ and Greens opposed it, ORF reported.

Mayor Christian Gepp said the city wanted to establish a vision for the project before seeking partners to deliver it. CMb.industries is led by entrepreneur and artist Chris Müller, who Gepp described as a specialist in developing industrial areas. Müller will not act as an investor. A first concept is expected before Christmas and will then be assessed internally, Gepp said.

The site has a long history of development plans. In 2019, the now-insolvent Signa group, founded by René Benko, joined as an investor. Plans for the 15-hectare property included housing, workplaces, culture, leisure, a hotel and restaurants, with total investment then estimated at 500 million euros. The project was later scaled back.

The plans ended in spring 2025, when the city and the project company withdrew documents submitted to the state for an environmental impact assessment. Following the insolvency of Hafen Korneuburg Immobilien GmbH & Co KG, the properties are to be sold through bankruptcy proceedings. A spokesperson for the insolvency administrator told the NÖN newspaper that the sale was proving slow.

NEOS welcomed the council’s decision, saying the aim should be to develop the entire area rather than sell it off piece by piece. The party said the city should retain influence over its development and safeguard public interests over the long term.

The Lower Austrian SPÖ called for the city and state to first examine options for strategic land purchases, arguing that starting new planning could weaken the public sector’s negotiating position. State party leader Sven Hergovich said the current period, when the plots were less attractive to speculators, should be used to buy land as cheaply as possible in the public interest. He said Korneuburg had a unique opportunity to create a “Danube Island for Lower Austria”.

Korneuburg Deputy Mayor Bernadette Haider-Wittmann also opposed the new planning process, saying that a specific urban development vision had helped make the site attractive to Signa. She argued that renewed planning could again increase its appeal to private property investors.