PPP Innovation Award 2010 - great honors for s.a.b..
Oktopus, a public bath project realized by s.a.b. in Siegburg that focuses on the future, has received the "2010 PPP Innovation Award".
s.a.b. – award winner of the "2010 PPP Innovation Award"
- Jan Mücke, Parliamentary Undersecretary and Wolfram Wäscher, Managing Director s.a.b.
Company s.a.b. was awarded the ”2010 PPP Innovation Award” for its exemplary and pioneer Public Private Partnership Project ”Oktopus Siegburg“. The award ceremony was conducted under the patronage of Werner Gatzer, Undersecretary of the Department of Finances.
The project partners, Wolfram Wäscher (Managing Director of s.a.b.) and Franz Huhn (Mayor of the City of Siegburg), accepted the award in a ceremony held during the German Administrative Convention "2010 Efficient State" on 27 October 2010 in Berlin.
The evaluation of the PPP Projects was based on the criteria of economy, sustainability, financing model, risk evaluation, innovative character, life cycle and solution of personnel issues. A jury of 11 high-ranking personalities from state departments, administrative authorities, financial institutes, associations and universities honored the s.a.b. concept for its uniqueness and its supra-regional character in a very special manner.
The combination of community responsibilities and internationally competitive fields of services give the project its innovative power. In addition to an indoor and an outdoor pool, the Oktopus Siegburg provides a fun sport center that boasts 7 slides, the largest diving center in all of Europe, indoor surfing facilities, a fitness, wellness and sauna area, a 3-star-plus design hotel that offers 120 beds and suites decorated in a variety of different styles, education and convention facilities, a restaurant, bistro and lounge.
The partnership with s.a.b. enabled the City of Siegburg not only to keep their public pool open to the community but also to actually reduce its costs by a documented amount of approx. Euros 600,000 per year. The opportunity for sports associations, public schools and the general public to enjoy swimming at reasonable entrance fees was guaranteed by contract. Moreover the familiarity and acceptance factor of Siegburg beyond the region was enhanced by this PPP Project.
Today the number of guests that visit the Oktopus has doubled compared to the time before its modernization. The hotel is among the 50 most popular hotels in North Rhine-Westphalia, and the diving tower attracts visitors from all over Europe.
PPP Innovation Award
The PPP Innovation Award has been awarded by the “Behörden Spiegel” and the Federal PPP Association in conjunction with the German Department of Finances since 2005. It honors enterprises that show a particularly convincing realization of common projects both, public and private partners, benefit from.
- 2010 PPP Innovation Award
Ingo Wolf, Home Secretary of North Rhine-Westphalia, congratulates s.a.b.
- Ingo Wolf (Home Secretary of NRW), Wolfram Wäscher (Managing Director of s.a.b.). Photo: Frank Ossenbrink.
Award Ceremony in Berlin, 27 April 2010
- Picture (from left to right): Jürgen Becker, State Department, Franz Huhn, Mayor of the City of Siegburg, Werner Gatzer, Secretary at the Treasury Department, Wolfram Wäscher, Managing Director of s.a.b., Georg Becker, SEG Project Manager, Dr. Jörg Hopfe, NRW Bank