Transportation Germany needs 400 billion euros for infrastructure
Germany has some catching up to do when it comes to infrastructure - as the collapse of the Carola Bridge in Dresden recently showed. According to a new study, around 400 billion euros will be needed in the coming years for highways, railroads and energy infrastructure alone.
24.10.2024, 12:28
SDA
The total requirement is likely to be even higher, according to the analysis, which was presented in Frankfurt on Thursday. This is because infrastructure investments in Germany are not systematically recorded.
"Germany's infrastructure lives almost exclusively from its substance," said economist Lars Feld, who teaches at the University of Freiburg and advises Finance Minister Christian Lindner, commenting on the study commissioned by fund provider Union Investment. "State investment has not been sufficient to secure the continued existence of the industry for a long time."
Hans Joachim Reinke, CEO of Union Investment, emphasized that a functioning infrastructure is the basis for a growing economy and prosperity in Germany.
Investments below the international average
Based on information from the German Ministry of Transport, the study estimates the investment requirement for the federal road infrastructure alone - i.e. freeways and federal trunk roads - at over 57 billion euros for the years 2025 to 2028.
For the railroads, 63 billion euros would be needed in the same period. And for the energy infrastructure, the estimated long-term investment requirement for onshore and offshore facilities as part of the energy transition is up to 270 billion euros.
At the same time, Germany has some catching up to do: in 2022, the investment ratio of the federal government, federal states and municipalities together amounted to 2.6% of real gross domestic product. This puts Germany around one percentage point below the average for OECD countries.
