Olaf Demuth, the newly appointed president of the major German building industry association, has launched a strong critique of the pace and execution of political housing and development projects. Speaking to RTL and ntv on Thursday, Demuth emphasized the necessity of implementing the full scope of the coalition agreement, pointing out that the agreement dedicates numerous pages to describing construction.
Regarding the so-called “construction turbo” Demuth stated that while the initiative is appealing, and more permits appear to be visible on the horizon, a construction project inherently requires multiple stages: first, securing the building permit as quickly as possible, and second, the completion of the physical implementation. He noted that the procedure is currently faltering at that critical juncture.
More generally, Demuth considers the entire development to be excessively slow. He pointed out that various external factors-including the conflict in the Middle East, inflation, and rising costs-ultimately complicate and hinder the final building decision.
The address came as Demuth was elected president of the building association during the annual day of the industry in Berlin, succeeding Peter Hübner. Notably, Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) will not be attending this year, a change from the previous year’s attendance.
