Progress continues on the new military hospital being constructed at Rhine Ordnance Barracks in Germany, as seen on Feb. 10, 2025. About $23,000 worth of tools and equipment was stolen sometime last week from the construction site. (Hannah Mitchell/U.S. Army)

KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany — German police are investigating a string of recent thefts from the construction site of the future U.S. military hospital being built near Ramstein Air Base.

The latest occurred last week when about $23,000 worth of tools and equipment were taken from a container that had been pried open, said Landstuhl police chief Siegfried Ranzinger, whose department is investigating the crimes.

It was the seventh time since January that items have been stolen from the gated site, which is supposed to be accessible only with access authorization, Ranzinger said Monday.

All the missing goods are pieces of construction equipment belonging to contractors and valued at a total of around $74,000, he said.

Police have stepped up security measures around the construction area, Ranzinger said.

No U.S. government property has been stolen or reported missing, Richard Puckett, a spokesman for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Europe District, said Monday.

The German Construction Administration is responsible for access and security on site, he said.

Last week’s theft happened sometime between Wednesday and Friday, Landstuhl police said in a statement Saturday. Witnesses who may have information about the crimes are asked to call +49 631 369-14300 or email pilandstuhl@polizei.rlp.de.

Construction is continuing on the project, Puckett said, with a targeted completion date of December 2027. The goal is to begin admitting patients in January 2029, he said.

The facility will replace the Ramstein base medical clinic as well as Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, which was built in 1953. It will be the largest U.S. military hospital outside the United States when it opens.

A $969 million contract for the bulk of the construction of the new hospital was signed in 2022, following years of delay. The German government is also contributing about $180 million to the project.