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

  • Golden opportunities in the MINT - Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria, Turkey
    May 21, 2015
    Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria, Turkey – Global Report offers up some food for thought about where smart money might be headed within the next several years – David Arminas writes China’s rate of growth may be slowing down, but other South East Asian companies are being quick to offer alternate investment opportunities, notably Indonesia. Nigeria, too, has had issues with security of investment. But there are signs that the government may be getting serious at last about tightening up rules and regulation
    Read More
  • ALARM report on UK’s crumbling roads
    March 18, 2025
    ALARM has published a new report on the UK’s crumbling roads.
    Read More
  • Bulgaria plans for operating road infrastructure
    February 21, 2012
    There is a lot of work to do on Bulgarian roads, but the government has plans to increase the length of highways built each year as Krasimir Krastanov reports. Bulgarian roads with a pavement make up 98.4% of all the country's roads, while 92.5% of them have an asphalt surface and 82.8% of them are able to carry 10tonnes/axle.
    Read More
  • David Barwell suggests six steps for closing the UK funding gap
    January 11, 2019
    Six steps for closing the UK funding gap Plenty of private money is seeking UK investment opportunities. The government and the infrastructure sector in general must make projects more attractive, writes David Barwell* It is widely acknowledged that the UK faces mounting economic, environmental and social problems if the nation's infrastructure fails to meet present and future demands. Government estimates propose that almost €561 billion is required to bridge the infrastructure funding gap. As part o
    Read More

Highlighted Content