German police on Tuesday unveiled a mass detention centre built in anticipation of protests against the Group of 20 summit in Hamburg in July, which are expected to turn violent.
The 11,000-square-metre centre in Hamburg’s southern Harburg district has 70 group cells and 50 single cells that can hold as many as 400 detainees, according to police spokesman Timo Zill.
A supermarket once stood at the location, which was most recently used as refugee accommodation, Zill said.
Refurbishing the venue as a mass detention centre was meant to cost three million euros (3.4 billion dollars), but Zill said it remained to be seen whether the project would exceed the budget.
Some 100,000 protesters are expected to descend on the northern German city during the summit, which will take place on July 7 and July 8.
Authorities say roughly 8,000 of those are prepared to use violence.
(Source: NAN)