Germany

Germany probably has the most centralised and simplest funding system.  The federal waterways are the responsibility of and are funded by the Bundesministerium für Verkehr-, Bau und Stadtentwicklung (www.bmvbs.de) (Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development). The waterways come under the Wasser- und Schifffahrtsverwaltung des Bundes (www.wsv.de) (their water and shipping administration), which operates through seven regional subdirectorates (email info@wsv.de ).  The federal waterways include all the main waterways, including those used mainly for leisure, such as the Obere Havel/Müritz-Elbe and upper Spree/Notte/Damme systems, but do not include very small waterways such as those in the Spreewald.  There is a list of waterways on the WSV website and lots more data on the waterways thmeselves at www.elwis.de. The 2008 Ministry budget for waterways is 800 million Euros.

Although some major projects shave been funded by the state, in particular the Elbe Lateral Kanal, constructed while Germany was still divided and thus having a political dimension, more recent projects have followed the CNR model described above for the capital construction phase.  An example is the Rhein-Main-Donau Kanal, which was constructed by Rhein-Main-Donau AktienGesellschaft (RMD AG), again funded largely by hydroelectricity sales.  RMD AG had to hand over the waterway to the national authorities on completion but they keep the income from the power stations until 2050, when they are also handed over. The company can only pay a dividend when all construction costs of the waterway have been met.  Shareholders were the Federal Republic of Germany, the rest held by Bavaria, various Länder and some of the municipalities along the route, until privatisation in 1995.  Now, after completion of the canal in 1992, it is owned mainly (77%) by E.ON AG -an electricity supply company, with a complicated subsidiary company structure.  Full details are at www.rmd.de.

Another large publicly funded current project is the new barge lift at Niederfinow - cost 150 million Euros

One waterway project is included in the 17 transport projects for German unity set up after reunification. Verkehrsprojekte Deutsche Einheit 17, involves the enlargement of the Hanover to Berlin link via the Mittelland Kanal, the new aqueduct over the Elbe at Magdeburg, the Elbe-Havel Kanal and the Havel.  Project budget was 2.3 billion Euros.  I am not sure whether this project also received funds from the regional Governments (Sachsen-Anhalt, Brandenburg and Berlin).