Progress in the disbursement of aid following the devastating 2021 floods in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), Germany, appears to be uneven, according to a report by West German Broadcasting (WDR).
While assistance provided to citizens has progressed more smoothly, support for municipalities in rebuilding vital infrastructure – including roads, railways and bridges – faces significant delays. The state government has allocated €2.8 billion for infrastructure recovery, but to date, only approximately €900 million has been disbursed.
According to NRW’s Minister for Local Affairs, Ina Scharrenbach, the bottleneck lies partly with the municipality application process. The government’s policy requires municipalities to submit detailed accounting documents before funds are released, a measure intended to avoid upfront financing burdens for local governments. Scharrenbach stated that a lack of timely submissions from some municipalities is contributing to the slow pace. She emphasized ongoing efforts to assist municipalities through the application process and assured that these efforts continue.
Conversely, the minister reported more favorable progress in citizen support. Approximately €865 million was allocated for the reconstruction of privately owned homes and the replacement of household contents. The majority of applications (over 98%) have been finalized and around 85% of the funds have been paid out to affected residents.
