The structural design plans were approved last summer and the building permit to replace the gondola lift was granted in the autumn. The BDG has also recently received building permission for the Berghaus. “We’re making swift progress and plan to get cracking in spring of 2019,” says Heinz Brand, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the BDG. The Porsche gondolas need to be ordered in January. If everything goes according to plan, work to rebuild the cable car will start in the spring, with the grand opening in December 2019.

Club de Luge at the Berghaus
When the BDG was restructured in January 2016, the new Club de Luge pledged CHF 8m. The deal is to use this money for the new Eggli gondola lift. In return, investors intend to set up a private club in the Berghaus Eggli, similar to the Eagle Club or the Gstaad Yacht Club. The BDG will receive these funds in January. When the plans go ahead next year, the Berghaus will be replaced by a new building. Brand emphasises that the new Saanersloch and Eggli construction projects have only been possible thanks to the support of private investors.

A share capital increase of CHF 6m
The two new Eggli construction projects will cost the BDG a total of CHF 18m. This breaks down as 14.75m for the gondola lift and the administrative complex and 3.25m for the Berghaus. The share capital increase of 6m that was approved by the annual general meeting in 2016 now needs to be set in motion. Part of this capital comes from the construction partners who conduct the work. As in the case of the Sportzentrum and the Saanersloch, they will receive 5% of the construction sum in the form of shares. Brand is confident that the remaining CHF 3.6m will also be raised in the months to come.

Justine Hewson / AvS