More money for transport through a fund – also with private capital. This is what an initiative by the Federal Minister of Transport is about. The chairman of the Conference of Transport Ministers welcomes this.
The North Rhine-Westphalian Transport Minister Oliver Krischer wants to speed up a billion-dollar infrastructure fund in Germany. The Green politician and chairman of the Conference of Transport Ministers told the dpa that he expressly supports the concept of Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) to finance the maintenance and expansion of the transport infrastructure with the help of an infrastructure fund. “I would be happy if we could talk about it at the upcoming transport ministers’ conference and perhaps even make decisions.”
The next transport ministers’ conference will take place on April 17th and 18th in Münster. Because of the increasing need for investment, Wissing had spoken out in favor of an “infrastructure fund” in which financial resources for rail, roads and waterways would be pooled for several years. He also wants to mobilize private capital.
Krischer believes immense resources are necessary
“The pressure is there at all levels of government, because the financial requirements for roads, rails and waterways will continue to be enormous in the coming years and decades and will even continue to grow significantly,” said Krischer. Despite all efforts, neither the federal government nor the states and municipalities have anywhere near sufficient financial resources. Just maintaining bridges across all modes of transport will cost billions of dollars.
“It is right to consider new financing instruments and to mobilize private capital for this purpose. There is nothing to stop investors who are looking for long-term returns from participating in the maintenance and expansion of the German transport system,” said Krischer. This is the only way to make the infrastructure future-proof.
“We must not repeat the mistakes of the past”
“We must not repeat the mistakes of the past, as was the case in the 1990s: money was tight then, and savings were made primarily on maintenance investments. This is taking bitter revenge today and is resulting in broken bridges and dilapidated traffic routes visible.”
However, in the end, an infrastructure fund can only be effective if investments can be clearly prioritized, said Krischer. “It is important to concentrate primarily on maintenance and renovation, which is where we have the greatest need at the moment, alongside eliminating bottlenecks in the rail network.”
The Green Bundestag member and rail expert Matthias Gastel also welcomed Wissing’s proposal for an infrastructure fund. What is needed is a clear prioritization in favor of rail, Gastel said. “However, I am skeptical about the idea of using private chapters.”
Source: Stern
