About the Ministry
How will we get from A to B in the future? How can our infrastructure be upgraded in a sustainable manner? How can we exert a positive influence on the development of our towns and cities and our rural areas? And how can we improve the quality of building and housing and the energy efficiency of our buildings?
All these questions, and many others, are addressed by the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development, which has the largest investment budget of all Federal Government departments. This involves a high level of responsibility. Because the appropriate and targeted use of this money is crucial to economic development, the safeguarding and creation of jobs and, last but not least, environmental protection and climate change mitigation in our country. By providing viable long-term solutions that will enable us to meet major challenges of the future, we want to contribute to good living standards and social cohesion in all regions of our country. That is why we support high-quality economic growth by ensuring that our infrastructure for road, rail, air and waterway transport is well developed, and it is why we promote new technologies and innovations that enable us to push ahead with our efforts to tackle climate change and protect the environment.
Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development
Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development
Building at Invalidenstrasse, Berlin
(Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development)
Cast iron Molosser dog at a side entrance of the Ministry
(Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development)
Building at Invalidenstrasse, Berlin
(Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development)
Iron lions at the back entrance of the old building
(Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development)
Building at Invalidenstrasse, Berlin
(Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development)
Front door of the building at Invalidenstrasse
(Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development)
A view into Erich Klausener Hall
(Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development)
Originally, the old building housed the Geological Institute and the Mining Academy
(Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development)
Building at Robert-Schuman-Platz, Bonn
(Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development)
Building at Robert-Schuman-Platz, Bonn
(Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development)
Building at Robert-Schuman-Platz, Bonn
(Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development)
The Ministry is headed by the Federal Minister of Transport, Building and Urban Development. He coordinates and is responsible for the work of the department, which comprises the Ministry and a total of 69 executive agencies.
The Minister is supported in his work by three parliamentary state secretaries, who are also members of the German Bundestag, and by two permanent state secretaries. These five most senior staff members assist the Minister in his functions as head of the department and as a member of the government.
Organisational chart of the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development (BMVBS)
(Source: BMVBS)
The directorates-general and their responsibilities
The Ministry has a total staff of 1,600 at its Berlin and Bonn offices. Nine directorates-general implement the activities of the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development.
The Political Coordination Directorate-General reports directly to the Minister and assists him in his political responsibilities. It focuses on press issues, public relations work and new media as well as on cooperation with other ministries, the German Bundestag, the Bundesrat and other institutions.
The Central Services Directorate-General performs the administrative functions at the Ministry itself and its executive agencies. It has key management tasks in the fields of the budget, staff, organization, the modernization of administrative processes, technical infrastructure and property maintenance.
Together with its executive agencies, the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development is responsible for over 26 billion euros of public funds and a staff of around 27,000. In addition, representatives of the Ministry represent the interests of the Federal Government as the owner or co-owner of enterprises in the transport, building and housing sectors, for instance airport operators and housing companies.
The Environmental Policy, Infrastructure and Policy Issues Directorate-General develops and implements key strategic policies. The main focus of its activities is on ensuring that transport and building policies are environmentally friendly and that their climate change impact is minimized, as well as creating the appropriate regulatory framework for an efficient transport system, namely transport infrastructure that meets requirements and the funding of this infrastructure. In addition, its staff devote a lot of effort to the promotion of research and foreign trade.
The Land Transport Directorate-General is responsible for all issues relating to rail and road transport. It also represents the interests of the Federal Government as the owner of Deutsche Bahn AG.
The major responsibility of the Road Construction Directorate-General is the renewal, upgrading and construction of federal trunk roads. The road network for which the Federal Government is responsible currently comprises around 12,000 km of federal motorways and approximately 41,000 km of federal highways.
The Waterways and Shipping Directorate-General is responsible for the 7,300 km of inland waterways and the 23,000 km2 of maritime waterways in our country. One of the key areas of the activities of this directorate-general is participation in international institutions in which, for instance, issues relating to the law of the sea and shipping law are discussed and resolved.
The day-to-day activities of the Aviation and Aerospace Directorate-General also extend beyond Germany’s borders. Its objectives are to ensure fair rules of international competition and to ensure that air transport – the volume of which is growing worldwide – is efficient, safe, secure and environmentally friendly.
The Spatial Planning, Urban Development and Housing Directorate-General is responsible for urban development and spatial planning, building and housing law, and rent law. One of its main priorities is to ensure the provision of housing that meets the needs of public welfare, especially given the current demographic trends. This directorate-general also has responsibility for the urban development assistance programmes, especially those relating to urban restructuring and the "Social City" programme. It also devotes special attention to the development of rural infrastructure.
The Building, Construction Industry and Federal Buildings Directorate-General is responsible for building policy issues, improving the energy efficiency of buildings, public procurement, Baukultur (improving the quality of the built environment), civil engineering and the construction industry. In addition, it has technical responsibility for federally owned civil buildings in Germany and abroad.
