"This applies to railway lines, roads, bridges and waterways, but also to the expansion of mobile phone masts and fibre optics," Scheuer said. A mobile phone mast, for example, requires 18 months for permits in Germany, while in other European countries it takes just four to six months. We need a modernization and acceleration push for Germany.”In autumn last year, Scheuer presented a bill to accelerate important infrastructure projects. In addition, planning procedures for replacement new constructions are to be streamlined – in the case of bridges, for example. A bridge from the 1970s, which will be demolished and replaced by a new, identical bridge, will no longer need years of planning approval procedures, he said.

Source: The Local January 08, 2020 09:56 UTC