Rhine states demand more federal funding for inland waterways

The four German states along the Rhine are pressing Berlin for more money to maintain the country’s waterways, warning that inland shipping is already being hit by low water levels.

Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate, Baden-Württemberg and North Rhine-Westphalia set out their demand in a joint position paper. They said waterways receive far less funding than needed, despite annual maintenance requirements of at least €2.5 billion.

“

We need reliable transport routes on roads, railways and waterways.

The states argued that roads and railways regularly dominate transport policy debates, while water infrastructure receives less attention. “We need reliable transport routes on roads, railways and waterways,” Hesse Transport Minister Kaweh Mansoori said.

Mansoori called for the federal government to finance the necessary modernization reliably. But he also cautioned that stronger infrastructure cannot replace the water missing from the Rhine in the long term. “That can only be solved through climate protection,” he said.

“

That can only be solved through climate protection.