Disagreement in Germany over new road funding plans

There is major disagreement in Germany over plans for a new approach to financing road development proposed by the government. The authorities in the states are objecting to the government proposal to open a road fund, which will be responsible for building and maintaining the major routes roads and which would be able to award contracts to private companies. The federal states currently have responsibility for the road-building work with, funding coming from central sources and they do not want to lose inf
February 24, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
Significant investment is required for Germany’s Autobahn network so as to upgrade existing routes and add much-needed capacity
There is major disagreement in Germany over plans for a new approach to financing road development proposed by the government. The authorities in the states are objecting to the government proposal to open a road fund, which will be responsible for building and maintaining the major routes roads and which would be able to award contracts to private companies. The federal states currently have responsibility for the road-building work with, funding coming from central sources and they do not want to lose influence. The German Finance Ministry says that road development is underfunded in the country. Some €10 billion is spent on road development/year at present in Germany. For the road programme to be achieved, the annual spending will have to rise to €14 billion by 2018. Germany’s Federal Government does not believe that the states will be able to implement the necessary road-building programmes within the timeframe however. The German Transport Ministry expects goods transport to increase by 40% over the next few years, which is why central planning is necessary.
Finance & Funding

Related Content

  • The US FAST Act: a job left unfinished
    April 4, 2016
    US roads and bridges are crumbling at an alarming rate as state governments wring their hands over the increasingly scarce money for repairs. Enter the FAST Act. But is it enough? US state transportation department officials, as well as highway contractors and operators, breathed a sigh of relief in December. For months the highways infrastructure sector waited anxiously to see where the necessary money for road projects would come from. For several years, the Highways Trust Fund – the usual way of paying f
    Read More
  • Virginia state issues RFP for $2.1 billion Interstate 66 toll expansion
    December 23, 2015
    The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) has issued a draft request for proposals (RFP) for the US$2.1 billion Interstate 66 tolled expansion project. Work under a 40-50-year public-private partnership is expected to include construction of 46km of lanes.
    Read More
  • Colombia’s infrastructure development
    December 5, 2013
    Colombia is benefiting from heavy investment in infrastructure that is helping boost the country’s economy. At the same time, tough policies have also reduced crime considerably and helped stabilise economic development. This process of economic growth and overall stabilisation looks set to continue as the Colombian Government has recently unveiled its plans for highway construction over the next 10 years. This infrastructure programme is also tipped to raise demand for surety products owing to government c
    Read More
  • The Russian government is set to revise roadbuilding standards and technologies
    May 29, 2013
    The Russian government is considering revising standards and technologies of roadbuilding in the country, writes Eugene Gerden. The aim is to accelerate implementation of one of the major public projects in the transport industry of Russia in the coming years: expansion of the road network from the current 900,000km to 1.3 million km by 2030 as part of the current Russian State Transport Strategy. According to a recent study, conducted by analysts of the Presidential Head Control Directorate, maintaining th
    Read More

Highlighted Content