Germany’s bumper €166bn transportation plan to start with renovation and maintenance

The spending includes €107 billion for railways, €52 billion for federal highways, and €8 billion for waterways.

The figure marks a significant uplift on the €102 billion that Germany spent in the previous five years (2020-2024), according to Schnieder.

It comes after Germany’s new government under Chancellor Friedrich Merz, agreed a $500 billion infrastructure spending package earlier this year.

Schnieder said, “We managed to increase transport investments by more than 60% from a standing start. Now it’s time to plan, build, and spend – as quickly as possible. We will all have to get used to even more construction sites to get the transport infrastructure up to scratch.

“Initially, the focus will be on renovation and maintenance, especially on the rail network and motorway bridges. In the next budgets, we must also focus on increasing the construction of new roads and railways.”

Construction industry warns over effectiveness of spending

However, there are still signs that money committed to construction by public bodies is still failing to translate to projects on the ground quickly enough.

Earlier this week, German construction industry association Bauindustrie warned that the investment backlog in cities and municipalities has hit record levels.

Bauindustrie’s managing director Tim-Oliver Müller said, “The municipal investment backlog increased by another €30 billion in 2024, reaching a record level of over €215 billion. Whether it’s roads, daycare centers, or disaster relief – there’s no area where the situation has improved. On the contrary: for the first time, real investment needs are higher than ever.

“Yet cities and municipalities are the first point of contact for citizens and the guarantors of local life. These figures make the plight of German investment policy more than clear. While spending is rising in all areas, especially in the social sector, without local people actually noticing any improvement, municipal infrastructure is groaning at the edge of its functionality.”

He also warned that Germany’s special infrastructure fund could end up being swallowed by states, who are already cutting their investment budgets and filling them with money from the federal special infrastructure fund.

Meanwhile, municipalities, who carry the responsibility for infrastructure locally will only receive a “fraction” of a €100 billion share of the fund, he warned.

“It cannot be credibly explained to citizens why €500 billion of additional debt should be incurred if the money is not reaching where it is needed,” he added.