Despite the new Special Fund for Infrastructure and Climate Neutrality (SVIK), economist Jens Südekum warns of a long‑term stagnation in investment. “It must not continue to the point where each year a wave of unspent investment funds builds up” he told “Der Spiegel”.
He was referring to nearly €30 billion of planned federal investment spending that would have gone unused in 2025. Südekum hopes that construction will soon become faster and less bureaucratic, especially under the Infrastructure Future Act, which is intended to allow expedited procedures for projects of overriding public interest.
A year ago, Südekum and three colleagues drafted a concept that later served as the template for the special fund and for loosening the debt brake on defence spending. Before taking office, the federal government had already set constitutional amendments in motion, fearing that a stronger AfD in the new Bundestag would make such changes impossible. “You have to take the second step before the first” he admitted. “In an ideal world there would have been a master plan with several reforms first. In reality, you must organise the implementation while operations are still underway”.
The implementation is heavily criticised, partly because the government has shifted ordinary budget expenditures into the special fund. “This cross‑subsidises benefits such as the reduced VAT in gastronomy” said North Rhine‑Westphalia transport minister Oliver Krischer (Greens). “That is fatal”.
Krischer insists that funds should be distributed based on need, not on proportionality. He argues that his state has the worst railway network of all German states and needs the money more urgently than others. Currently, €100 billion of SVIK funds are allocated to the states via the Königstein rule: the greater the tax revenue and population, the more money flows in.
If Krischer were to refurbish all transportation infrastructure-from local roads to ICE lines and motorways-he estimates he would need €130 billion, already exceeding his state’s calculated share of the special fund. “Then there would still be no renovated schools, hospitals, or universities” he warned.