Germany again pledges funding for much reduced and damaged Kiel Canal

Germany again pledges funding for much reduced and damaged Kiel Canal

GERMAN Transport Minister Peter Ramsauer has promised to "effect emergency repairs at the highest possible speed" for the Kiel Canal (NOK), the world's most heavily used artificial waterway that serves the Port of Hamburg.

The announcement comes after vessels with a length of more than 125 metres were for one week barred from using the canal on account of damage to the large lock gates. But this is not the first time money has been pledged by the government, but failed to appear.

The minister also revealed that the construction of the fifth lock at Brunsbuettel in Schleswig-Holstein on the Elbe river on the North Sea side, will be put out for tender. This follows an announcement by the parliamentary budgetary committee that building costs have been increased by EUR65 million (US$84.2 million).

The state of the Kiel Canal is regarded by Hamburg Port authorities as an example of the threat posed by failure to take decisions on further developing infrastructure, to avoid bottlenecks in the supply chain between the hinterland and the port.