Transparency about approval procedures for major transport infrastructure projects (DE0032)

What is the public problem that the commitment will address? In Germany, the planning and approval procedure for major infrastructure projects in the transport sector typically goes on for many years. Often, it is very difficult to estimate reliably how long it will take before the go-ahead is given. A range of influential factors are beyond the control of the developer and approval authorities. In particular, the parties concerned may wish to fully exhaust the scope for legal recourse against decisions by the authorities or courts. The general public has very little knowledge of the reasons for and extent of the investigations and reviews required as part of the planning and approval procedure.

What is the commitment?Bearing the working title of “Transparency about approval procedures for major transport infrastructure projects” (TGIV), this measure will use funds from the existing budget to set up a publicly accessible web-based information platform. This might take the form of an “approval map”, linking to details of the planning and approval procedures for major federal transport infrastructure projects for federal highways, waterways and railways, for example. It is designed to meet the information needs of those affected by the plans, as well as the interested public. In the absence of any obligation in law, providing information either on the platform or via a direct link to other websites (the Federal Government’s environmental impact assessment portal, the developer, the Federal Railway Office) is voluntary.

How does the commitment contribute to overcoming the challenge?This measure takes all modes of transport together on a single platform to create trans-parency about the many twists and turns on the road from the initial plans for a major infrastructure project, through the application process and on to approval. It sets out the formal legal requirements that apply to that approval, the scope of documentation (e.g. expert reports) that the developer must produce in the planning process, and the stage that current planning and approval procedures have reached. The information on individual transport infrastructure projects is intended to provide a basis for broad civic discourse, while creating understanding for the time and effort involved in the planning and approval process.

Why is this commitment relevant to OGP values?The commitment further reinforces the value of the open government approach, uses tech-nology to improve transparency, and opens the administration up even further to the people. The ability to offer structured, condensed information and data across a range of modes of transport, and to forward it to other publicly accessible platforms, creates a high degree of transparency.

Milestones Start Date Implementation by Invitation to tender and contract for the information platform (pilot system); technical implementation Q1 2022 Q2 2023 Pilot operation Q3 2023 Q4 2024 Start of normal operations (publicly accessible website) Q4 2024

Action Plan Review

Commitment 6.3: Transparency about approval procedures for major transport infrastructure projects