Underfunding threatens German waterways
Germany’s federal waterways face severe underfunding in the 2026 draft budget and medium-term financial plan as Initiative System Wasserstrasse (ISW) reported. According to an internal paper from the Federal Ministry of Transport obtained by the ISW, only EUR 7.3 billion are available instead of the EUR 10.1 billion required. According to the organisation the amount is insufficient even to launch tender procedures for replacement and renovation projects of ageing locks and weirs. Of 319 locks, 137 are in poor or inadequate condition, while 71 of 295 weirs are similarly affected according to ISW.
"This list exceeds our worst fears," said Jens Schwanen, ISW spokesperson and managing director of the German inland navigation association (BDB). "Waterways have long been the most reliable mode of transport, but this underfunding puts that status at risk. Does it really take a 'Rahmede moment' for the government to act?" he asked, referring to Germany’s 2021 bridge closure on A 45. (js)