en.Wedoany.com Reported - Germany's Bundestag voted on June 26 to pass the draft Infrastructure Future Act (Infrastruktur-Zukunftsgesetz), submitted by the federal government and incorporating revisions from the Transport Committee. This reform aims to classify major transport infrastructure projects as being of "overriding public interest," thereby significantly accelerating their planning and approval processes. The law still requires final approval from the Bundesrat.

During the Bundestag debate, the opposition sharply criticized the law. Swantje Michaelsen, a member of the Green Party (Bündnis 90/Die Grünen), argued that the governing coalition, under the guise of acceleration, was attempting to weaken nature conservation and public participation rights. Jorrit Bosch, a member of the Left Party (Die Linke), described the compensation payments stipulated in the law as a "modern indulgence trade" and referred to Federal Transport Minister Patrick Schnieder as the "executioner of the hazel dormouse" during the plenary session. In response, CDU politician Schnieder stated: "We have not lowered any standards." He said the measures were merely intended to make environmental and nature conservation measures more practical and easier to implement. Reacting to criticism from Ulrich von Zons of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) regarding priority being given to various facilities, including rest stops, Schnieder retorted: "Go ask the truck drivers—they are also citizens of our country—what conditions they have to endure there!"

Industry associations in the logistics and transport sectors generally welcomed the bill. The German Freight Forwarding and Logistics Association (DSLV Bundesverband Spedition und Logistik) called it in a statement "a long-overdue signal for the modernization of Germany's transport infrastructure." Frank Huster, the association's Managing Director, stated that the Bundestag had significantly expanded the scope of infrastructure projects considered to be of overriding public interest, which represents "a firm commitment to Germany as a business location." The DSLV particularly welcomed that, in addition to railway lines and federal highways, truck parking lots, airports, waterways, and port expansion projects are now included. The association also praised the Bundestag for incorporating a cut-off date provision into the law, which it said could prevent completed planning approval procedures from being reopened, thereby avoiding project delays. Huster emphasized: "The key now is that the measures stipulated in the law must be implemented quickly and consistently. Only then can existing and future bottlenecks in the transport network be alleviated as soon as possible."

The German Transport Forum (Deutsches Verkehrsforum, DVF) also demanded that these simplification measures be applied consistently to accelerate investment growth. Florian Eck, spokesperson for the DVF management board, stated: "The federal government and the Bundestag have passed good legal measures in the Infrastructure Future Act, which must now be put into practice as quickly as possible." He further demanded: "The acceleration approach should be extended to all future investments and should therefore, in principle, take effect across all supply infrastructure areas, such as transport, energy, and digitalization." He also noted that this applies equally to the use of compensation payments, enabling the cross-project integration and funding of compensatory measures for environmental and species protection.

Ingo Wortmann, President of the Association of German Transport Companies (Verband Deutscher Verkehrsunternehmen, VDV), particularly praised "the additional progress made in accelerating planning law for cross-border rail connections and for railway and public transport projects." From the VDV's perspective, a particularly positive aspect is that, in the future, construction work in the areas of electrification, digitalization, and platforms, as well as signaling and safety technology, crossovers, passing tracks, and shunting tracks, can be implemented to a greater extent without a dedicated planning approval process, provided the respective prerequisites are met.

The Federal Association of German Inland Navigation (Bundesverband der Deutschen Binnenschifffahrt, BDB) stated it was "especially" pleased with the passage of the Infrastructure Future Act. Commenting on the Bundestag's resolution, BDB Managing Director Jens Schwanen said: "With today's Bundestag resolution, the trend in waterway infrastructure, characterized by a backlog of repairs and aging facilities, can be reversed." According to the Waterway Expansion Act, all expansion projects classified as "urgent need" will in the future be legally recognized as "being in the overriding public interest and serving public safety." The BDB noted that this applies not only to expansion measures on the Middle Rhine, Lower Main, and West German canal network but also to measures on the Lower Rhine, the second lock on the Moselle, the extension of locks on the Neckar, and the replacement new construction of a lock on the Elbe Lateral Canal. Through this new project classification, authorities and courts will find it easier to make decisions in favor of project advancement when weighing protection interests.

This article is compiled by Wedoany. All AI citations must indicate the source as "Wedoany". If there is any infringement or other issues, please notify us promptly, and we will modify or delete it accordingly. Email: news@wedoany.com