Basel multiplex on course

Cinema The multiplex cinema planned by cinema entrepreneur Enrico Ceppi has cleared the first hurdle: no objections were received within the deadline for the nine-screen, 2,400-seat project to replace Ceppi's "Küchlin" cinema and the former "Komödie". "This means that both the new use and the demolition of the 'Komödie' have been approved," Ceppi states with relief when asked.Roland Bader from the Basel building inspectorate also confirms this fact. Bader notes that Ceppi has only submitted a preliminary project, for which he still has to work out a detailed project. However, the current preliminary decision is "a huge step forward" for Ceppi's multiplex, explains Bader. Ceppi submitted the building application last fall, a few days after a referendum in which another multiplex project in which he was involved was rejected (WW 43/03). At that time, it had become known that four more multiplexes were planned in and around Basel. According to Bader, there were preliminary talks about these, but no planning applications had yet been submitted.
(mk)