Berlin Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) opposes a central project of the traffic light coalition: the renovation and expansion of the locks on the inland waterways. In a letter to the Baden-Württemberg Transport Minister Winfried Hermann (Greens), which is available to the Handelsblatt, Wissing announced that he did not want to pursue the extension of the 27 Neckar locks any further: There was reason to “readjust the infrastructure goals,” Wissing wrote.
“The urgency of the necessary repair measures requires them to be decoupled from the expansion projects that require planning approval and are time-consuming in view of the duration of the approval process, in order to continue to guarantee the operational safety of the Neckar,” Wissing wrote to his colleague, adding: “At the same time, the available resources are limited .”
Actually, in addition to the train, inland waterways should also help to transport fewer goods by road and instead use the more climate-friendly modes of transport. The coalition of SPD, Greens and FDP has therefore decided to strengthen inland shipping. “We will speed up the renovation and expansion of locks,” the coalition agreement states unequivocally.
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It was therefore not long before State Minister Hermann came up with strong criticism of the stop to expansion: “The extension of the Neckar locks from Mannheim to Plochingen is laid down in the Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan 2030 and in the Federal Waterway Expansion Act as a project of urgent need,” he referred to the legal situation and to the Federal and state administrative agreement concluded 14 years ago.
Hermann emphasizes climate goals
“The project goal – making the Neckar navigable for 135-meter ships – is of the utmost importance for achieving the climate and traffic shift goals and the needs of the national economy, and implementation is becoming increasingly urgent,” emphasized Hermann.
It is “incomprehensible” that the Federal Waterways and Shipping Administration (WSV) has not yet started to lengthen any of the 27 locks on the Neckar, Hermann continued. Rather, the WSV keeps a study “under lock and key” that shows faster planning and construction processes.
The Greens politician complained that it had been shown that the federal administration was not complying with “the basic rules of targeted project management”. Instead of the building freeze, “an administrative reform and a change of course towards an active performance of tasks and a coordinated step-by-step concept for implementation” are indicated.
“The impression is getting stronger that the federal government is delaying a transport infrastructure project of the century despite the increasing urgency and is thus actually breaking the administrative agreement, the resolutions on the BVWP (Federal Transport Routes Plan) 2030, the Federal Waterway Expansion Act and also the current agreements of the coalition agreement,” criticized Hermann and set clear: the state is sticking to the “fastest possible implementation of the Neckar expansion”.
The Neckar is one of the most important inland waterways in Germany. According to the Federal Association of German Inland Shipping (BDB), five million tons more goods are transported per year than via the German part of the Danube.
The federal government had promised large investments in the expansion of the locks.
(Photo: dpa)
The industry has been waiting for the locks to be expanded for years. BDB board member Jens Langer from the port operator DP World makes clear demands on politicians: “The shipping industry, like the shipping industry and the inland ports, urgently need the locks to be extended, because we want to use ships with a length of 135 meters. “Planned investments are now up for grabs.
Minister Wissing, on the other hand, is presenting the industry with new facts: “Because of the long implementation period, the lock extension on the Neckar cannot ultimately offer any planning perspective for business decisions,” he wrote to his Baden-Württemberg colleague Hermann.
>>Read here: 100 days of digital and traffic: Minister Wissing has more problems than solutions
His goal is “planning security” for everyone involved, explained Wissing. “This strengthens the business location in Baden-Württemberg faster and more sustainably than an unfinished extension of the lock for decades.”
Criticism came from the coalition partner SPD. “I would have wished for a much more transparent approach and more sensitivity from Mr. Wissing,” said traffic politician Mathias Stein. The question will certainly be discussed in parliament. Lukas Benner from the Greens said the decision was “surprising” and “incomprehensible”. The expansion of the Neckar was clearly meant by the statement in the coalition agreement.
The traffic policy spokesman for the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, Thomas Bareiß, called the decision “fatal in every respect”. The Baden-Württemberger expects “serious long-term consequences for the economy and logistics” because goods are now being transported more by road. “This is a step backwards for transport policy.”
The federal government had already undertaken the renovation and extension of the Neckar locks as part of the administrative agreement with Baden-Württemberg in 2008 and has so far invested 157 million euros in the planning preparations, as can be seen from the current budget draft. Currently, however, only two smaller projects are running on the Neckar: Work has been taking place on a weir since 2012, and the protection and expansion of the Hühnerdorf side canal since 2021. According to the budget, both together have cost around 15 million euros so far.
The federal government wants to invest a total of 1.2 billion euros in the waterways this year. In 2023, on the other hand, there is a risk of half a billion euros less, as the BDB warns.
More: Local transport: the federal government rejects the demands of the state transport ministers