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Poor infrastructure: 84% of companies complain about massive risks!
84% of Cologne companies suffer from poor transport infrastructure. A survey shows an urgent need for action.
Poor infrastructure: 84% of companies complain about massive risks!
The business world in Germany doesn't have it easy: A current survey by the Cologne Institute for the German Economy shows that an immense 84 percent of the companies surveyed suffer from poor transport infrastructure. How Deutschlandfunk reported that almost 1,100 companies were surveyed and the numbers are alarming. After all, 92 percent of the affected companies stated that the deficiencies in the road infrastructure in particular had a significant impact on their business operations.
The length of time over which the situation has worsened is equally worrying. While in 2013 almost 60 percent of companies were influenced by the state of the infrastructure, this figure has now risen to 84 percent - an increase that cannot be ignored. Thomas Puls, an expert at the IW, now sees the infrastructure as a “brake block for the German economy”. This constant burden shows that without planned, higher investments, the everyday life of many companies will not improve.
Criticism of the political agenda
The ongoing underfunding of public infrastructure in particular is causing a lot of dissatisfaction. According to the analysis of daily news and other experts, the pressure to transform towards a climate-neutral economy is real, but these necessary investments compete with other government spending. This leads to inefficient planning processes and often to cost overruns.
Another problem is the lack of coordination between the different actors. The proposal for a central, cross-functional organization at the federal level, as proposed by PwC suggested, could help here. This unit would focus on the successful implementation of public infrastructure projects and promote far-reaching professionalization.
A glimmer of hope: the special fund
Nevertheless, there are also bright spots: the special infrastructure fund approved in March, which has a total volume of 500 billion euros, promises a possible turnaround in transport. IW Cologne emphasizes that without these investments the status quo cannot be sustainably improved. However, there are concerns about the political implementation, as many companies are faced with the question of whether the new government's promises will actually result in significant additional investments.
The current investments in the Ministry of Transport, amounting to over ten billion euros, have been moved from the core budget to the special fund, but confidence in the effectiveness of these measures is fragile. The government's promises are perceived as broken by companies as growth is expected to fall short of expectations.
Whether and how the infrastructure in Germany can be brought into shape remains to be seen. However, one thing is clear: companies want politicians to give them a good hand in order to finally put the transport infrastructure on a sustainable basis.