CDF criticizes Armasuisse Immobili for delays in renovations

Context

TL;DR

• The CDF criticizes the management of Armasuisse Immobili
• More than 34% of renovation costs at the end of 2025
• Backlog at 40% by 2030 according to internal projections
• DDPS is aiming for a cap of 30 billion

Key facts

• Establishment → Swiss Federal Audit Office (SFAO)
• Manager → Armasuisse Real Estate
• Portfolio → around 21,600 objects, including 6,070 buildings
• Replacement value → CHF 28.4 billion
• Maintenance arrears → between CHF 2 billion and CHF 3 billion

The contestation of the relationship

The document published on Monday by the Swiss Federal Audit Office (SFAO) blames Armasuisse Real Estate for delays in the rehabilitation of military infrastructure and gaps in strategic planning. The criticism comes as new needs to strengthen the Swiss army put pressure on the management of real estate assets.

The portfolio includes barracks, airfields, parade grounds and logistics centres. At the end of 2025, it had around 21,600 objects, including 6,070 buildings, with an estimated new value of CHF 28.4 billion. This is the sum total of properties managed by Armasuisse Real Estate, not a single infrastructure.

The strategy on the base park changed in 2022. Previously, the goal was to reduce the value of the portfolio to CHF 20 billion; the deterioration of the geopolitical situation, on the other hand, led the Federal Department of Defence's (DDPS) Real Estate Council to target a ceiling of CHF 30 billion. According to the report, the changeover puts the management bodies under great pressure.

The expansion of the portfolio could require up to 6 billion francs. However, armasuisse Real Estate is unable to quantify the actual needs of the troops or to determine exactly how much investment is required. As for the planning documents of the Defence Group, including the future "Outlook 2040" report, they are not expected before the end of the year.

Petra Kobler, Head of Armasuisse Real Estate, acknowledged that catching up is not possible in the short term. Priorities will therefore have to be set. The SFAO welcomes the planned and partly already initiated portfolio management review because the errors identified have been corrected. Previously, it was often the individual site managers who defined the needs of users locally and with a short-term horizon.

Operational details

The backlog scale

Three thresholds for reading the report

The clearest comparison concerns renovation costs relative to the value of the real-estate portfolio. The report indicates a maximum target value of 25%. At the end of 2025, however, the share had risen above 34%, amounting to 7,3 billion francs. The gap between the target limit and the observed figure is therefore more than 9 percentage points.

The three percentages measure the same item at different points in time: the limit set, the situation at the end of 2025, and the scenario indicated for 2030. The 40% therefore does not describe a figure already recorded. It is the projection of the “backlog wave” if investments are not doubled.

The report distinguishes this share from the maintenance backlog, which ranges between 2 and 3 billion francs. The two values are not presented as amounts to be added together: the first is a percentage of renovation costs relative to the portfolio, and the second is an estimate of accumulated maintenance work. This distinction makes it possible to avoid confusing the relative scale of the problem with the backlog amount indicated by the CDF.

Portfolio and potential investments

A second comparison concerns the evolution of the asset-portfolio target. The previous approach targeted a base portfolio of 20 billion francs, while the new maximum cap indicated by DDPS is 30 billion: a difference of 10 billion between the two strategic reference points. The source presents 30 billion as the maximum limit being pursued, not as a replacement value recorded at the end of 2025, which remains stated at 28,4 billion.

The 6 billion envisaged for expanding the portfolio must also remain separate from the 7,3 billion associated with renovation costs at the end of 2025. The report does not provide a definitive overall figure for the two categories. Armasuisse Immobili is in fact unable to determine either the troops’ actual needs or the necessary investment with sufficient precision. The forthcoming “2040 Outlook” report is expected no earlier than the end of the year, leaving the quantification of real-estate needs still open.

Key points

Controls, governance and corrective measures underway

An error in recent financial statements

The problems do not concern maintenance alone. According to the Swiss Federal Audit Office, Armasuisse Immobili’s management control is based on Excel spreadsheets that contain contradictions and methodological flaws. An incorrect formula left maintenance expenditure of almost 250 million francs out of the most recent financial statements.

The figure concerns the quality of the control tools and the accounting presentation of expenditure. It adds to the problem of the backlog, but the source treats the formula error and the share of remediation costs separately. The report thus identifies two distinct dimensions: on the one hand, the accumulation of necessary work, and on the other, the reliability of the data used to monitor management.

The gap in strategic decision-making

From a governance perspective, the last two regular meetings of the DDPS Real Estate Council, a body bringing together senior management, were cancelled between the end of last year and the beginning of this year. This cancellation blocked any significant arbitration and fueled differences between the Armed Forces Group and Armasuisse.

The military side is pressing to relax certain environmental or legal constraints in order to free up resources for armaments. Civilian management, however, cannot endorse this practice without clear legal backing from senior leadership. The report therefore also links the planning problem to the lack of a decision-making level capable of resolving these differences.

Coordination between real estate and armaments

Armasuisse and the DDPS are implementing structural measures to make project direction and management more effective. One objective is to bring real estate and armament projects under unified leadership.

«Interdependencies must be taken into account: for example, a new weapons system requires a dedicated hangar», Robert Scheidegger, Deputy Secretary General of the DDPS, explained to the media.

For Petra Kobler, the real estate portfolio must be systematically geared towards defence capability, giving priority to security needs over architectural and urban-planning considerations. The Swiss Federal Audit Office has issued four recommendations, including timely decisions in principle on governance, the immediate correction of accounting data and the mandatory adoption of modular construction standards.

The conclusions of the report were welcomed by the DDPS, Armasuisse and Army Command. The same parties stated that they had already overcome some coordination difficulties and had begun updating procedures. The source does not yet provide a definitive quantification of the investments required or indicate when the planning delay can be made up.

Source: rsi.ch