German Rhine states push Berlin for major inland waterway funding boost

Four German states that share the Rhine have jointly called on Berlin to substantially increase federal funding for inland waterways, arguing that years of underinvestment are leaving the vital river corridor increasingly vulnerable to low-water shipping disruptions.

In a position paper released on Friday after the 8th Rhine States Conference in Wiesbaden, Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate, Baden-Württemberg and North Rhine-Westphalia said waterways were being neglected in national transport policy debates, which they said remained dominated by roads and rail. The states put the annual funding need at no less than €2.5 billion ($2.9 billion), and warned that current spending falls far short of what is required for needs-based maintenance and modernisation.

“We need reliable transport routes on road, rail and waterway,” said Hesse’s transport minister, Kaweh Mansoori. “The federal government must reliably finance the necessary modernisation work.”

Yet Mansoori also cautioned that even the best-built infrastructure would not remove the Rhine’s fundamental dependence on water. “Only climate protection can help with that,” he said, using the term commonly applied in Germany to climate action.

Viktor Haase, state secretary in North Rhine-Westphalia’s transport ministry, stressed the need to invest not just in the waterway itself but also in a new generation of inland vessels that could remain commercially viable under extreme low-water conditions.

The appeal comes as repeated dry spells have made low-water bottlenecks on the Rhine a growing concern for German industry, which relies on the river to move oil, coal, chemicals and agricultural goods. Logistics experts say that without a clear federal financing commitment, the country’s most important waterway risks becoming a recurring chokepoint for supply chains.