Audit draft details failures of two MCI campus projects

A confidential draft report on the twice-abandoned plan to build a new campus for the MCI entrepreneurial university in Tyrol has identified cost and procurement problems. ORF reported that the Tyrol Court of Audit examined thousands of transactions in a review spanning about 400 pages.

The report describes a long-running clash between the state, which wanted a compact and economical building, and the MCI, which promoted the campus as an architectural landmark. The audit office said the disagreements were a major driver of rising costs.

For the first project, the required building volume could not be met from the outset, while the budget was set too low. The state government approved 80 million euros without adjusting the amount for inflation. In 2018, then state councillor Johannes Tratter of the Austrian People’s Party stopped the project without a government resolution.

The second project also began with what the audit office called unrealistic cost limits. The state capped spending at 135 million euros, while estimates had reached 244 million by 2023. The report also criticised shortcomings in the procurement process and said a single law firm was hired for legal support without seeking competing offers. In 2024, Governor Anton Mattle, also of the Austrian People’s Party, halted the project.

A total of 12.5 million euros was spent on the two projects without construction starting. Those responsible have eight weeks to respond to the draft report, which will then go to the state parliament’s Finance Control Committee. Committee chairman Markus Abwerzger, leader of the Freedom Party’s parliamentary group, has announced several special meetings.