BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany is lagging on its targets to renovate the country’s dilapidated bridges by 2032 and needs to boost investment, according to auditors, who said the government’s goals appear unachievable.
Only 69 of the 280 structures scheduled for renovation in 2024 under the 2032 plan had been modernised, Germany’s federal audit office said.
To achieve the target, Autobahn GmbH, which is in charge of the renovations, would have to modernise around 590 substructures every year from now on. “That doesn’t seem realistic,” Kay Scheller, president of the office, said.
“The gap between planned and successful modernisation will continue to widen over the years,” she said.
The audit office, which accused the transport ministry of presenting progress too positively and of falling short on the targets, said a total of 2.1 billion euros ($2.39 billion) would be required for 400 substructures in 2026, while the ministry put the sum at 1.4 billion euros.
The transport ministry disagrees with this assessment of “embellishing” the numbers, noting that the modernisation of bridges is a top priority, a spokesperson for the ministry told Reuters.
“The implementation of the programme is on schedule and is communicated transparently by the transport ministry and Autobahn GmbH,” the spokesperson said.
The German auditors demanded more funds for the government-owned Autobahn GmbH without giving an exact figure, as that depends on construction price developments.
($1 = 0.8788 euros)
(Reporting by Christian Kraemer and Maria Martinez, Editing by Madeline Chambers and Sharon Singleton)
