Budget Committee adopts "Programme to Accelerate Infrastructure Projects"
Ramsauer: An additional one billion euros for transport infrastructure
How the money will be spent in the Programme to Accelerate Infrastructure Projects
(Source: Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development)
- date of issue
- 2012.02.09
- serial number
- 022/2012
The German Bundestag's Budget Committee has adopted the list of projects submitted by the Federal Minister of Transport, Peter Ramsauer, for the "Programme to Accelerate Infrastructure Projects". This means that, as of 2012, an additional one billion euros is available for investment in roads, railways and waterways.
Ramsauer:
"We will use this additional one billion euros to safeguard and improve the efficiency of our transport infrastructure. In doing so, we will be meeting part of the huge need for funding. This will give us some breathing space, but it is not yet enough to solve all our problems. I will therefore continue to lobby for more money to be made available for the necessary investment, especially for the structural maintenance and modernization of our infrastructure."
The main focus (600 million) of the additional investment will be roads, as the number one mode of transport. 400 million euros will be spent to reinforce requirement plan projects under construction. 127 million euros is earmarked for structural maintenance work, and 60 million euros for new projects. 13 million euros will be spent on constructing cycle tracks along federal highways.
The railways will benefit from an additional 100 million euros. The money is to be used primarily to modernize passenger stations. The work includes improving accessibility, modernizing platforms and providing better shelter.
Ramsauer:
"We are continuing the success story of our economic stimulus programme for stations. Many stations will be made safer, more secure and easier to use, and access to the trains will be improved. This is one more step along the road to making the railways more customer-friendly."
Investment in the waterways is being stepped up by around 300 million euros. The money will be used to construct the fifth lock at Brunsbüttel on the Kiel Canal.
Ramsauer:
"The Kiel Canal is the world's busiest man-made waterway and is important for the provision of links to and from the German ports. The necessary upgrading work has been postponed time and again for many years. We are now going to tackle it and, in doing so, enhance the capacity of the canal."
