Germany Blog: More tempo – a catalyst for faster infrastructure spending is approved

Research evidence excerpt

Germany Blog: More tempo – a catalyst for faster infrastructure spending is approved

Deutsche Bank

Research

Europe Economics Date

Germany 26 June 2026

Germany Blog

More tempo – a catalyst for faster

infrastructure spending is approved

Marion Muehlberger

Germany has big plans for modernising its infrastructure. Adding up federal core

Senior Economist

budget and infrastructure fund expenditure shows that a total of EUR 33 bn is to be +49-69-910-31815

invested in roads and railways over the course of this year. An additional EUR 94 bn

is earmarked for road and railway investment from 2027-29.1 However, the Ursula Walther

Research Associate

continuous ramp-up in infrastructure spending is hampered by complex planning

and approval processes. Granular infrastructure spending data reveal that

spending on roads and railways of the infrastructure fund has picked up, but it was

still below plan at 19% at the end of April.

The major lever for accelerating public infrastructure spending in the sense of

creating a steady pipeline of shovel ready projects over the next few quarters and

years lies in speeding up planning and approval processes. Today, the Bundestag

passed the Infrastructure Accelerator Act ("Infrastrukturzukunftsgesetz") that aims

to speed up these planning and approval processes. Once also approved by the

upper house on July 7, it promises to act as a catalyst for faster project

implementation from the end of the year onwards.

Figure 1: New autobahn sections and bridges - 50% of the Figure 2: Federal railway infrastructure-pipeline for

pipeline in the planning stage construction projects

Planned expenses, EUR bn Planned expenses, EUR bn

Autobahn Other federal 25 100

highways

20 80

2025-29* 2030 onwards* 2025 onwards 0