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'Germany Abandoned Its Infrastructure': Billions in Investments Needed

© AFP 2023 / DPA/ Bernd WüstneckRoad works in Germany
Road works in Germany - Sputnik International
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While Germany's economy is on the rise and the DAX is breaking records, economists have rung the alarm, warning that the German government has invested too little into "its future." Sputnik discussed the issue with a researcher at the University of Duisburg-Essen, Ferdinand Dudenhöffer, and a professor at the University of Trier, Heiner Monheim.

The federal government of Angela Merkel has turned a blind eye to the existing problems over the past 10 years, German economist and expert on traffic Ferdinand Dudenhöffer said in an interview with Sputnik, adding that the leading EU country has completely abandoned its infrastructure.

"This not only concerns the traffic and the roads. It [the government] also didn't pay attention to such issues as fast internet or transition to electric cars. Universities are in poor condition, as well. Germany has allowed its infrastructure to decline. This is bad, very bad; with the previous government it was not the case," Dudenhöffer said.

According to the economist, Germany has all the preconditions for active investments into its future. The economy is on the rise, the volume of tax revenues is sufficient. According to Focus magazine, 14 billion euros were allocated this year for road construction alone.

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However, the analyst believes that this is not enough. Moreover, the situation has not changed for the better due to improper management and high levels of bureaucracy.

"There is enough money for one road, and there is no money for another. Funds for it are allocated in the next budget. The result is long-term road works and unproductive use of the resources of the national economy," Dudenhöffer stated.

For his turn, Heiner Monheim, a retired professor in the field of territorial planning at the University of Trier, believes that the situation in other spheres is even worse: "If we pay attention only to the roads, this won't help us to get out of this difficult situation."

In his opinion, the railway network in Germany is in a much poorer condition, with regions and local communes desperately lacking money for construction.

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One of the reasons behind the current traffic crisis is the fact that "no politician is particularly interested in investing in road construction during the election," Dudenhöffer noted.

"After four years of his or her term, the construction site is ready, but then the new election comes, the politician [who was in charge of the construction projects] is not re-elected" and everything starts from the very beginning.

In order to avoid bureaucratic obstacles and make the whole system work, the analyst proposed to introduce a modern management system that will be completely independent of the political conjuncture.

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