Industry representatives in Germany have warned that prolonged budget uncertainty brought about by the collapse of the country’s government is putting vital transport infrastructure at risk.
“We are extremely worried,” said Jürgen Faupel and Daniel Jonas of the Federal Association of Medium-Sized Construction Companies (BVMB) in a joint statement on 3 December.
‘Poison for infrastructure’
They expressed particular concern for motorways and bridges because much of the Autobahn network is showing signs of age-related strain, as evidenced by the collapse of the 1960s-era Carola Bridge in Dresden in September.
Jürgen Faupel is deputy president of the BVMB and Daniel Jonas is its managing director. Their statement followed a meeting of 90 representatives of medium-sized road and bridge construction companies.
They said the Autobahn faced an annual funding shortfall of around €1.5bn a year.
A new budget was unlikely before Summer 2025, they said.
“We have several months ahead of us in which less planning and tendering will presumably take place,” said Jonas.
“This is poison for the infrastructure and for road and bridge builders.”
Hamstrung by debt brake
As many as 5,000 Autobahn bridges are decrepit and need to be renovated or rebuilt, state broadcaster DW reported in June.
But the government is hamstrung by a national debt brake, written into the German constitution, that limits federal deficits to 0.35% of GDP.
‘Crumbling bridges and roads’
Felix Pakleppa, general manager of the Central Association of the German Construction Industry, raised the alarm on 25 November.
“The already poor construction economy is in danger of being further damaged by the failure of the government and thus also of the federal budget in 2025,” he said.
“The funds for the housing subsidy programs, for the renovation of crumbling bridges and roads, and for the expansion of the rail network are in danger of running out,” he added, urging the next government to set budget priorities as quickly as possible.
“We are currently facing another dry spell until autumn 2025 – this must not become a sad reality,” he said.
Collapsed coalition
Germany’s so-called “traffic light” coalition of Social Democrats (SPD), Greens, and Free Democrats (FDP) fell apart when SPD Chancellor Olaf Scholz sacked his FDP finance minister Christian Lindner on 6 November.
A main cause of disagreement was the budget, over which the two were diametrically opposed, with Scholz in favour of spending more and Lindner set on cuts.
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