The Infrastructure Future Act faces strong opposition from most of the Green party, but not from the Green Minister of Transport in North Rhine‑Westphalia, Oliver Krischer.
Krischer told the “Tagesspiegel”: “There are several good points that simplify and speed things up, like the planned stronger digitisation of processes and participation procedures”. He added that, under current environmental law, large projects require a spatial planning procedure followed by an environmental impact assessment. He thinks the extra spatial planning step for rail projects is unnecessary, calling it “a double check”.
He also welcomed the proposal that bicycle paths become a fixed part of new and replacement construction on road bridges. On the other hand, he sees a tendency in the draft bill to reduce participation rights without good reason. “It can seem as though the bill is less about speeding things along and more about getting rid of environmental groups and their legitimate objections”.
Krischer argues that in many cases it’s not environmental standards or participation rights that delay projects, but overburdened administrations or complex jurisdictional structures across political levels. In such cases, state planners often receive approval from the federal government only with significant delays. He also points out that a lack of funding frequently prevents technically mature projects from actually starting.
