New Minister of Transport announces 500 billion for infrastructure revolution!
New Minister of Transport announces 500 billion for infrastructure revolution!
Deutschland - Patrick Schnieder (CDU) is the new Federal Minister of Transport and has announced profound changes in transport policy today. His focus is on faster planning and approval of infrastructure projects. Under the principle of “preservation before new building”, it is emphasized that the renovation of the dilapidated infrastructure in Germany has top priority. For this, investments in the rail should be increased in order to ensure reliable infrastructure for mobility, economy and climate protection. An essential part of this strategy is the reduction of the renovation backlog on roads, bridges, tunnels and rails.
Schnieder plans to introduce a uniform procedural law for infrastructure projects in order to avoid double tests and to shorten deadlines. The association law is also to be tightened. These are crucial measures that should not only ensure more reliability and punctuality in the rail network, but also rethink the need for full closures in general renovations. The strengthening of climate -friendly modes of transport remains a central goal.
Financial foundations for implementation
An important instrument for the implementation of Schnieder's planning will be a special fund that is expected to be approved in the Federal Council on Friday of 500 billion euros. However, experts warn that future governments could possibly also use this money for new roads, instead of investing exclusively in the renovation and expansion of the rail infrastructure. Deutsche Bahn has already registered a need of 148 billion euros from this special fund, while the remaining rest from running households is to be financed.
The Deutsche Bahn investment needs for the preservation of the rail network is over 90 billion euros. In addition, according to calculations, around 200 billion euros are necessary for electrification, digitization and route expansion in order to achieve climate neutrality in the transport sector by 2045. The state of maintenance of the federal roads by 2030 will be estimated at over 140 billion euros. A study by the German Institute for Urban Studies puts the renovation effort for bridges, streets and tunnels even at 283 billion euros.
a challenge for infrastructure planning
However, there are also urgent needs in other areas of public services such as hospitals and schools. Therefore, Dirk Flege, Managing Director of the Allianz Pro Schiene Interest Association, expects large distribution struggles for the funds of the special fund. In addition, critics warn that planned new motorway projects are continued despite the current challenges, which is denounced by Bernd Riexinger, spokesman for the left. He sees the risk that the money may be wasted for motorways while it is urgently required for the rail.The establishment of an expert forum for early involvement of science, associations and experts could be a step in the right direction. Schnieder also wants to advance the improvement of traffic safety in cities and in the country, with digitization still a key factor remains for planning procedures and traffic control. Mobility is viewed as a basic requirement for quality of life and economic success.
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| Ort | Deutschland |
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