German giant Siemens to revive historic base in Berlin [Video]

German industrial giant Siemens on Tuesday launched an urban development project worth 4.5 billion euros ($4.8 billion) in the area of Berlin known as Siemensstadt, where the company enjoyed its pre-war heyday.

The Siemensstadt Square “district of the future” will include new living space for up to 7,000 people and create 20,000 additional jobs at the site, where Siemens still manufactures today, the company said.

Siemensstadt Square “aims to link the worlds of work and research, housing and life in a new way — worlds that were already brought together in the historic Siemensstadt”, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said at the launch of the project.

The development embodies “the future of Berlin and German industry”, he said.

The 76-hectare site, due to be completed by 2035, will include homes, factories and research centres as well as offices, shops and educational, sports and leisure facilities.

The project is a way of “reconciling …