Amasra new thermal power plant investment

Dear Energy Professional, Dear Colleagues,

An international energy/ power investor company (IPR.LN)is partner of 480 Mwe combined cycle power plant on Tekirdag sea coast in Thrace part of Turkey for last 10 years. The Company advanced the most in two weeks in London trading after the Independent newspaper reported GDF Suez SA is considering raising its bid to purchase for the utility.

The Foreign Company is now considering partnering with another local investment group to build a new local bituminous coal firing thermal power plant in Amasra county, BARTIN Province of Turkey to generate 1200 MWe (or 2640 MWe) electricity output for the national grid. The new TPP investment project may be considered to increase the investment portfolio in order to have price raise in negotiation with GDF Suez SA.

The local partner investor group has received 49-years of coal production concession right. Both parties are now negotiating on the final MoU draft, and hoping to sign the MoU document in next few weeks time.

Earlier the local investment group has prepared an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report to get permission from the Ministry of Environment, which is needed to get power plant investment licensing from the energy markets regulatory board.

Earlier the investment capacity was presumed to be 2640 Mwe comprising 4x 660 MWe units, firing approximately total 1000 tons of coal per hour, where the local coal has 3500 local/kg LHV as received, 5800 kcal/kg LHV after water washing enrichment.

Your writer had spent a few nights to read the preliminary so-called EIA report, in the end he was displeased with the technical quality of the report, other than flora and fauna and all unnecessary details, concluded that the report was not so professional, very simple, even somewhat misleading, even quite far from truth in certain chapters.

Our calculation relieves 1300 tons per hour coal with 5800 kcal/kg LHV after water washing enrichment of as received bituminous. With 7000 hours of estimated annual operation, the plant should consume 7 million tons of enriched coal or 10 million tons per year as received.

Overall local bituminous coal production was 1.2 million per year in year 2008, which is corrected to 2 million tons in year 2009. Therefore the plant will consume 5 times of the current production of the local coal reserves. How will this happen? Isn't it misleading?

Now the new foreign company is in the picture with the local investor with half the earlier output generation not 2640 MWe but for 1200 MWe, in 2 units of 600 each.

We understand that the foreign investor company has 3 similar coal firing references in the world, 1000 MWe Rugeley Power plant in England, Pego 2×300 MWe in Portugal and 2×615 MWe Paiton Indonesia (+800 MWe new) all burning high LHV bituminous coal.

At this time of global warming, world uprising climate change, there is no excuse, no luxury for Operators not having sufficient E/Ps, not installing FGDs whatever local emission regulations. All these reference plants are not constructed by the Company but purchased after construction in privatization, and all of them have same common environmental sensitivity weaknesses.

Their plants are seriously lacking environmental equipment, ESPs are not sufficient to collect all outgoing fly-ash, and first two references do not have FGD systems at this point. First two plants' FGD systems are added nowadays after so many years of operation and air pollution, due to local or international public pressure.

The Foreign Partner has to have more environmental sensitivity in their own plants. They have small E/Ps and lack of FGDs in their coal plants. That means they can not collect dust properly, they can not collect sulphur but pour all to atmosphere.

Should we interpret this situation as opportunism, or greed, or ignorance to public health and safety?

Which state of art technology will be employed in the plant design? And what employment opportunities are waiting for the local people??

How should we interpret? Is that they presume all local people ignorant, illiterate, unable to make calculation, unable to read technology?

They have money to invest in poor technology with no care to beautiful environment of the Black Sea coast, we need electricity generation and we comply with all that information rubbish. Is this what is expected?

We understand that the partners will finance the project 30% from their own sources and the remaining 70% through project financing.

That means they will need serious bankable feasibility and EIA reports with full compliance to European standards and norms to emission limitations.

They will need serious plant design, to run smoothly for many years. They will need full compliance to local and EU laws and regulations and local expectations for maximized local employment.

We only get pleased to read such news on new energy investments in our local energy market, provided that

They are designed environmentally friendly, to enable low CO2 emissions, even employ CCS technology,
They consume maximized amount of local coal,
They have E/Ps, FGD, CCS fully installed and operated, and they meet EU emission standards,
They have completed all obligations for Environmental Impact Assessment Reports,
They receive their license from the Local Regulatory Board,
They are designed by local engineering companies or in-house engineering as much as possible,
They are fabricated in the local fabrication plants as much as possible,
They are installed by our local contractors,
They are commissioned and supervised by our local engineering power,
They are operated by our own local staff, and
Regularly checked by our own Labor force in programmed maintenance.

We only get pleased to read investment, and sincerely feel that energy investors deserve all our support to complete those power plant investments.

On the other hand, there is great risk in project finance of such investments due to public response.

Partners should make the risk assessment for coal supply and electricity sales.

Those companies, who are ignorant of local workforce employment expectations, and neglecting local engineering contribution, neglecting world class environmental limitations, will surely deserve the highest level of local resistance in legal platforms.

They may have too much of a headache during project execution; therefore, the project finance institutions should make their risk assessments carefully.

We would like to warn them not to make any technical mistakes in their power plant design, avoid incorrect selection of the necessary basic equipment, as well as environmental requirements, and wish them to operate the plant for many years, to generate electricity which will push our economic prosperity.

The investors should feel comfortable that we shall be warning them for proper design, sourcing fabrication, site installation, logistics, and public approvals. We all expect that these energy investments will bring prosperity, employment and peace to the site and the nearby community.

Maximized local manpower, as well as maximized local engineering/ fabrication/ site installation capabilities should be employed.

May God bless them with wisdom for all those who need. May God save you and forgive you for making any mistakes in your risk assessment.

God bless you all.

--
Haluk Direskeneli, Hamburg based Energy Analyst,

NGO Working Group in ODTU Alumni

Degerli Arkadaslarim

Geçtiğimiz Cumartesi nerdeyse tamgün ODTUMD Vişnelikte idim. Önce Eymir salonunda Proje Yönetimi Derneğinin düzenlediği 1100-1300 arası Müzakere Yönetimi (satınalma- satış) eğitimi, sonra saat 1300-1600 arası CHP MilletVekili Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu söyleşisi, sonra 1600 STK toplantısı. STK toplantısı sonrasında aklımda kalanlar sadece benimle ilgili olan son 10 dakikada konuştuğumuz Amasra Bartın yeni termik santral yatırımı konusu- MMO'nun ÇED sürecinde mudahil olmasi için MMO Ankara YK yeni üyesi olarak her türlü çabayi göstereceğimden emin olabilirsiniz. Aslında en çok ODTÜ U3 amfisinde AkBank Genel Müdürü ile yapılan söyleşiyi konustuk- Ama benim tavsiyem bu konuyu artık kapatmak- U3 ODTUye aittir. Ögrenci ve akademisyenlerin ortamıdır. Mezunların orda toplantı düzenlemeleri hele hele politik eğilimlerin çabucak seslendirilebileceği ortamları oluşturmaları tatsız sonuçlar ortaya çıkarabilir. U3 toplantıları eğer devam edecekse kültür insanlarını davet etmek, moderatörün gereksiz uzun konusmalarını engellemek gerek- diye düşünüyorum. Politika- finans- işhayatında basarılı mezunların konusmalari/ soylesileri ODTUMD ye alınmalı- diye düşünüyorum.

Daha sonra 1700-1900 arası Tuba ve eşi için Bar56'da düzenlenen Evlilik partisi- Hoş bir yemek oldu- Biz evlilik üstüne konuşurken Tuba ve yakışıklı eşi kimbilir neler düşündüler?- Söylediklerimizden ne kadarını kafalarının bir kenarına yazdılar?- Ne kadarını uygulayacaklar?- Bundan 40 sene sonra acaba neler diyecekler?- Sıra bana gelince anlattığım, benim 1976da genç bir yeni evli mühendis olarak Fabrikanın yaşlı Tahmil-Tahliye Foreman'inden aldığım uyarıyı dinleyeceklermi?? Beraber yaşama başlarken evde iş bölümü yapacaklarmı?? Onlara sağlıklı, çok çocuklu, mutlu, uzun bir beraberlik diliyorum- Bizim gibi "keşke" leri umarım daha az söylerler. Keşke bizim/ benim için de yillar once boyle bir yemek düzenlenseydi, nelere dikkat etmemiz söylenseydi- dedim kendi kendime- Çok hoş akıllıca tavsiyeler söylendi. Benim 35 senelik evlilik sürem sonrası hala bu konuda öğreneceğim- dikkat edeceğim- konular varmış- dedim kendi kendime- Umarım STK üyesi diğer arkadaşlarımda aynı şeyleri düşünüyorlardır

Bir evlilik daha olsa da benzer bir yemekli Bar56 toplantısı yapsak- yada evlilik şart değil arada bir başka güzel bir vesile bulsak- 1600 toplantısını saat 1700 de herhangi bir güzel bir vesile ile (PhD yapan, çocuğu olan, terfi eden Vs) Bar56ya taşısak mı?- dersiniz- Bunları söz uçar yazı kalır- diye düşünerek Pazartesi sabahı yazdım bir kenarda dursun - Yorum eklerseniz memnun olurum.

Selamlar saygılar

--
Haluk Direskeneli, Ankara based Energy Analyst

Re-Hiring the already Fired employees

Dear Colleagues,

You work hard, you expect promotion. Then one day, end of year, a young employee from Human Resources, calls you and says. “Your position has been eliminated,”. There were some words before and after, but you don’t really remember them because these five words consumed your brain for the entire call-and for many weeks following. This was your first layoff.

After you calmed yourself down, you thought about the best way to be laid off, the exit strategy that would be most beneficial to your future. You came up with these guidelines to help anyone else who faces a layoff, which seems to be everyone these days:

Ask for an explanation, but don’t expect or demand one

If you are laid off, you deserve a reason from your management, but you often will not get one. Accept that fact quickly. If you insist the point, you run the risk of harming the relationship with the person who will be your best reference to future employers-and you stand to gain little more than a vague excuse.

Maintain a professional image throughout the ordeal, only letting your guard down when you get home.

The people you work with will also be references to give to future employers, and you need their last image of you to be as positive as possible. Crying and cursing as you’re escorted to the elevator would be a perfectly human response, but not a very strategic one.

Finally, let it go. Don’t spend your time over-analyzing what happened. A job search is tough, and exponentially so in this recession. You have too much work to do to waste your time thinking about the work you won’t be doing anymore.

As you read these words now, many months after the downsizing, they seem simple. But at the time, there was nothing harder to do than suppress my emotions as much as ou could and follow these steps. If you face it, this will be hard, but it will be the most advantageous thing you can do.

After all, telling your new interviewer that she can not contact your former employer or colleagues is a huge red flag, and with millions of other unemployed people competing for the limited number of job openings, a red flag can mean elimination from the pool of applicants without even a chance to explain it.

You could be fired from your job. Time is hard. We have global financial crisis, you find yourself unemployed. You feel humiliated. You feel that you do not deserve that response, that you are the one to be fired.

But company can not get enough orders to survive. So they need to cut expenses. They need to fire people to reduce expenses. You are the one to sacrifice.

Then one day in time, maybe not very long, company gets orders, they need human resources. They feel that re-hiring is better then new recruits since they do not need time for reorientation. They prefer their ex-staff. They invite to join them again.

However whatever the time passed in between, now working conditions/ your terms are different. You are humiliated in the past.

You spent one of the worst periods of your life time. You had debts to pay, you had to pay mortgage, find money for your children for their education.

You had so hard times to survive. Your core family supported you. Your friends, your networking helped you to find another job/ another business environment to earn money and survive.

Then one day your company calls you back. They should pay. They should pay the consequences. You were the one who paid their termination decision. This is not so cheap. Think about, and answer the following questions

Companies expect the employees to care the company interests at extreme levels, however they also expect them to sacrifice from their personal gains. Why??

Do you re-hire the employees you fired earlier? Yes, you do. Because the ex-employees need no time for orientation. Company gets the memory back.

How about that question, "Do you work in a business environment where you were fired before?" Good question but it is not so easy to answer.

They need more programs to upgrade the employee morale, restructuring / re-building re-hired employee self confidence, and belonging feeling.

For an ex-employee, if he/she is not yet employed, it is better to get a job, than stay unemployed, better hired than fired.

On the other hand, company looses the confidence of the ex-employee, he/she would be looking for another job in time.

Fired employee looks for family support at all time to overcome the difficulties.

He/she should consult with his/her seniors who had similar nasty experiences in their past.

Re-hiring is costly. Companies should think twice to fire employees in hard times. Employee expenses are a small percentage of the overall expenses.

Re-hiring procedures should be carefully re-examined by both sides, by employer as well as employee.

Low profile is recommended to re-hired employees. Long term expectations are to be avoided. Career expectations are to be kept at lowest level.

You may also consider to return to university for MSc MBA PhD degrees if you do not have dependent, if you can survive for at least 3-years. That postgraduate degree will be very helpful in your senior management career plans as well as in your senior years.

An employee/ professional should look for any means to build his/her own company/ enterprise, where he/she can not be fired again. It is certainly better to work in an environment where you can control your own fate/ destiny.

Your comments are always welcome.

--
Haluk Direskeneli, Ankara based Energy Analyst

2010 Forecast for Energy Markets

Değerli Arkadaşlarım,

ODTU Mezunları Derneği Enerji Komisyonu üyeleri olarak kendi aramızda yeni yıl beklentileri çalışması başlattık. Bildiginiz gibi piyasa beklentilerle yönlendirilir. Ortada tahmin yapan yok. Biz biraz gerçek ötesi de olsa öyle/ böyle tahminler yaptik. 2010 da beklenen gelişmeler/ tahminler bizce şöyle,

o Enerji KIT'lerinde, birisi çok çarpici olmak üzere, sürpriz gelişmeler olacak, (ani ve hızlı özelleştirme ?? mesela) Görevden almalar artacak. Özellikle eski tecrubeli etkin GM, DGM kadroları dolduranlar, müşavirliğe, özel sektörde Yönetim Kurulu danışmanlığına terfi edecekler. Yeni gelenler tüm yılı alışma/ öğrenme süresi olarak geçirecekler, hiçbir insiyatif almayacaklar.

o Dünya Bankasi heyetlerinin enerji konusunda ETKB, EPDK, DPT, Hazine, TUSIAD ziyaretleri siklasacak,

o Gazete yazarlari/ muhabirleri yine enerji birimlerini birbirine karıştıracaklar, MWe'a MegaByte diyecekler

o Sinop'ta Nükleer santral icin ihaleye Haziran ayinda çıkılacak, her kafadan bir ses çikacak, Sinop'lular hep itiraz edecek, kimse onlari dinlemeyecek, ihale iki yıl sürecek ve sonunda yine iptal edilecek.

o Akkuyu'ya Nukleer santral kurulmasi icin Hukumet Ruslarla "ben verdim oldu" anlaşması yapacak, ortalık bir daha ayaga kalkacak

o Baska Nükleer santral yeri arayışları bu defa Karadeniz kıyılarına taşınacak.

o Yerel Toplum STK baskisi ile Sinop'ta Nukleer santral kurulmasi askıya alınacak. IgneAda ve Hopa seçenekleri öne çıkacak,

o Nükleer teknoloji egitimi konusunda ITÜ Enerji merkezi MSc ve PhD programları ile öne çıkacak. ODTÜ hala "Bu konu gündemimizde yok" diyecek.

o Yerli yatırımcı Amasra'ya "yerli kömür santrali" diye baslayip ithal kömür yakan santral kurmaya kalkisacak, Amasra ve Bartın ayağa kalkacak. Amasra'nın otelleri lokantaları Çinlilerle dolacak. Çinliler uzun dönemde orta ölçekli işletmeler/lokanta/berber/market açacaklar

o Dogalgaz yasa tasarısı tamamlanacak. Botaş kontratın bir kısmını uzatacak. Doğalgazda tekelin sona erdirilmesi, piyasa hakimiyeti üzerindeki tartışmalar artacak. Yeni Genel Müdür arayışı sürecek.

o Karadenizde offshore platformları kurulacak. Her ay en az bir kere "Çok miktarda DoğalGaz/Petrol bulunduguna dair" medyada haberler yer alacak.

o Iskenderun Körfezi'ne bilen bilmeyen "ithal kömür santrali" yapmak isteyecek, Iskenderun, Payas ve Dörtyol ayağa kalkacak. Yerli istihdam olmadğını anlayan millet hukuki engellemelere başlayacak.

o Iran dogalgaz vermeyi Ocak 2010 sonunda kendi iç piyasa ihtiyacı sebebiyle yine 1-ay kesecek, Ruslar Mavi Akım'da kapasite artıracak.

o Firtina Deresi HES benzerleri artınca Karadenizliler, Müteahhitleri şimdilik dizaltından vuracak. "Derelerime Dokunma" Birliğinin faaliyetleri artacak.

o Ilısu HES üzerindeki TV programlari artacak. Bu programlarin hepsi Dicle'ye inen koyunlarin görüntüsüne eşlik eden acıklı bir fon müziği ile başlayacak.
Herkes buradaki harabelerin ve koyunların fotoğraflarını ezberleyecek.

o Afşin Elbistan A santrali rehabilitasyon ihalesine tekrar çıkılacak, kimse katılmayinca/ katılamayinca yine iptal edilecek.

o Afşin Elbistan C-D ihalelerine çıkılacak, ihale tarif ve kapsam olarak aşırı risk taşıdığı için yine az sayıda katılım olacak, ihale fiyat yüksekliği nedeniyle yine iptal edilecek.

o Soma termik santrali satılacak/ özelleştirilecek (çok kolay çünkü).

o Samandağ'li hanımlar yine "rüzgar santrali istemeyiz" diyecek, kimse onları dinlemeyecek, Valilik "ÇED raporuna gerek yok" diyecek, Samandağ'da rüzgar santrali kurulmamıs arazi, tepe, yamaç kalmayacak.

o Çesme Yarimadasi'nda rüzgar santrali kurma girisimleri bu yil da son hiziyla devam edecek. Yer ve baglanti imkani bulamayanlar bu yil da "Ne biçim TEIAS Genel Müdürü bu ?" diyecekler. Bakan TEIAS Genel Müdürünü çagiracak bilgi alacak.

o Rüzgar santrali yerli üretim icin çalismalar, JV haberleri artacak, Bu çalismalarda en küçük güç 3 MW olacak, Prototiplerin üzerinde mutlaka bir Türk bayragi olacak. Devlet erkani ile tanitim ve açilislar yapilacak.

o Yenikoy ve Kangal amili mütehassis rehabilitasyonlari bitecek, yabancı müteahhitler köşe olacak, yapilan işin verilen paraya kiyasla çok az oldugu ortaya çıkacak, "Kara Kömür/kara Enerji" isimli sorusturmalar baslayacak ve tutuklamalar olacak.

o Antalya Selimiye/ Kovanlı'da 1150 MWe CCPP devreye girecek, etrafta ziraat için yeraltı suyu birakmayacak, Antalya'lılar işin ciddiyetini o zaman anlayacaklar.

o Bandırma 900 MW CCPP Agustos'da devreye girecek, 1000 MWe kapasiteli ikinci santral ön çalışmaları başlayacak, bu arada Bandırma yerli/ yabanci yatırımcı istilasina ugrayacak, tarımsal alan daralacak.

o Yabancılara hisse satan yerli sirketler, aşırı/ gereksiz yabancı muhendislik harcamaları, yabancı ortağın kendi ulkelerine yonlendirilmiş pahali OEM satın almaları, sonuçta aşırı maaliyet yüzünden, yabancı ortakla yaptıkları JV anlasmalarını tekrar değerlendirme gereğini hissedecekler,

o Kömür sahalarinda termik santral kurma amaçli "Redovans" ihaleleri bir türlü sonuçlanmayınca, çözüm arayışları için bu konu tekrar yıl ortası gündeme gelecek.

o Samsun'da DoğazGaz ile çalışan Kombine Cevrim Santrali yapılmayan yer kalmayacak, iletim hattı zorlukları başlayacak.

o Konya ovasinda tarım yapılmayan yerlerde termik solar ağırlıklı yatırım çalışmaları başlayacak, yerli imalat arayislari artacak, fakat, sonunda Çin'den gemi dolusu solar panel getirmenin ve bu panellere Ostim'den birer direk imal ettirmenin daha ucuz ve uygun oldugu anlaşılacak.

o Çin mali termik santral alanlarin asiri de-grading yüzünden rehabilitasyon ihtiyaci baslayacak, Çinli'ler çabuk yaslanan santrallerinde uzun dönem isletme ve rehabilitasyon islerine girecekler.

o Dagitim özellestirmeleri tüm hiziyla devam edecek, dagitilmayan/ özellestirilmeyen yer kalmayacak, Ana Muhalefet Partisi'nin iptal basvurularinin hazirlanmasi için tuttugu hukuk bürosu yetmeyecek, büro Çankaya'da daha genis bir yere tasinacak.

o EPDK, bilen/bilmeyen, parasi olan/olmayan, ancak evraklarini tam veren herkese lisans vermeye devam edecek, tasindiklari yeni bina dar gelmeye baslayacak, bu defa yeni bina yapimi için Gölbasi'nda arazi satin alinacak.

o Enerji Piyasasi Düzenleme Kurumu yeni üyelerinin atanmasi dolayisi ile bir yemek verecek ve bu yemekte sektör temsilcileri "Enerji Piyasasi Düzenleme Kurumu'nun" sektör için öneminden bahsedecekler.

o Lisans süresi dolan ve yüksek fiyat istedigi için lisansini satamayan yenilenebilir enerji girişimcilerinin Enerji Piyasasi Düzenleme Kurumu ve Bakanlıktaki trafikleri artacak.

Biz bu kadar tahmin edebildik. Diğerlerini de siz ekleyin- Yeni yiliniz kutlu olsun- Selamlar saygılar

--
Haluk Direskeneli

Grand New Concert Hall Tests a City’s Frugal Ways

January 1, 2010. HAMBURG JOURNAL, By NICHOLAS KULISH

HAMBURG, Germany — A spectacular new concert hall is rising skyward on the banks of the Elbe River at the end of a pier in the old harbor here. City leaders hope the hall, the Elbphilharmonie, will become a new world landmark on par with the Sydney Opera House, nudging a city often too modest for its own good toward the international prominence they believe it deserves.

But the new, extravagant project is unusual for Hamburg, an affluent but unassuming old Hanseatic city, with a reputation for sober-minded business sense compared with the baroque flash of its rival, Munich, in the south.

While residents marvel at the rippling glass tower capping a postwar brick warehouse in the architectural renderings, they have had trouble coming to terms with the kind of grand — and invariably growing — price tags that come with such grand structures.

One result is a struggle between Hamburgers’ desire for recognition and their own frugal instincts.

“My friends are completely divided; either they think it’s an absolute money pit or they say it looks super and is great for the city,” said Jörg Homeyer, 42, who works near the construction site and stops at the cafe across the street each day to observe the progress. “Myself, I’m really of two minds. I mean, I’m impressed by the monumental architecture, but I also can’t believe the amount of cash it’s burning, and coming from the average taxpayer.”

It has not helped matters that the city’s share of the cost has more than quadrupled — to nearly half a billion dollars from the initial optimistic projections of just over $100 million — and that the opening has been pushed back two years to 2012. Taxpayers fear that the project will continue to guzzle their money through endless delays and cost overruns.

But the city government is betting that the problems, and most of all the growing expense, will be forgotten when the Elbphilharmonie stands as the new symbol of Germany’s second-most-populous city, which officials say lacks the kind of signature monument the Brandenburg Gate provides for Berlin or the Eiffel Tower for Paris.

But Hamburg became one of the richest cities not just in Germany but across Europe in part because of its very modesty. According to one local saying, Hamburgers prefer fur in the lining of their coats for warmth, rather than facing outward for show, said Jörn Walter, the city planning director.

“If we had said from the very beginning that we needed 300 million euros for the house, I am sure that the city would have agreed, because it’s a wonderful project for Hamburg,” said the enthusiastic Mr. Walter, who leapt from behind his desk repeatedly during the interview to gesture at a wall-size map of the city. “I am personally completely convinced that in 100 years, people will look back with pride on the fact that our generation succeeded in creating it.”

The contentious project has already cost the job of the previous head of the city-owned building company, who was fired in 2008 as the magnitude of the cost increases became apparent.

As designed by the Swiss architectural firm Herzog & de Meuron, famed for the Bird’s Nest Olympic stadium in Beijing, the Elbphilharmonie is intended to be more than just the city’s new symbol. It is meant to be the capstone of an ambitious 400-acre waterfront redevelopment project in the heart of Hamburg, known as HafenCity (Harbor City). The roughly $10 billion project is an effort to build an entire new section of downtown Hamburg almost from scratch and already includes more than 30 new buildings.

The former harbor area — now too shallow for modern container ships, which dock across the Elbe — is already home to the offices of China Shipping, the consumer-products giant Unilever, and the software company SAP. About 4,000 people work in HafenCity, and 1,500 live there.

And jutting out from the end of the pier, facing westward, are 17 of the Elbphilharmonie’s eventual 26 stories, which, when completed, will stand 360 feet high. On a recent blustery morning, the bowl-shaped main concert hall was still open to the towering construction cranes and gray clouds above it. The acoustics are in the hands of Yasuhisa Toyota, who worked on the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles.

Many Germans here and around the country have been fascinated by the evolving technical details of the project, or as the newspaper the Frankfurter Allgemeine put it in a headline this week, “The Long Way to the Perfect Sound.”

Construction crews had to gut the original 1960s-era warehouse and drive some 600 new concrete piles because the existing wood supports could not bear the weight of the addition. A documentary on public television here showed technicians blasting the specially designed windows with water cannons and aircraft engines, and crashing heavy tires against them, to simulate extreme weather conditions.

The first few individually crafted glass panels have been installed on what will be an undulating glass facade. It rises to peaks in the renderings that look like cresting waves, but it is the rising costs that have caught the most attention so far.

“Our impression was that the politicians decided they absolutely had to have it before they really gave any thought to the planning,” said Christian Plock, manager of Hamburg’s Association of Taxpayers. “We’re not against it in principle, just the dilettante manner in which it was done.” The project made the national taxpayers association’s “black book” of wasted tax revenue for all of Germany in 2009.

The timing could not have been worse, with the global economic crisis and fall in world trade cutting into business at the city’s port and overall tax receipts.

The publicly financed share of the project is now $465 million. Donations from private citizens have brought in $101 million more, while an undetermined amount of money is coming from the project’s business investors.

The building will also house a 250-room hotel and more than 40 exclusive apartments overlooking the harbor.

In a city with high rents and an acute shortage of working-class housing, the decision to focus resources on HafenCity and its flagship has prompted accusations that the entire development will benefit only tourists and Hamburg’s elite.

On a tour of the construction site, the Elbphilharmonie’s general director, Christoph Lieben-Seutter, disputed that notion, pointing to the plaza facing the river that will be open to the public. “This is a house for all Hamburgers,” he said.