Federal Minister of Transport - Wissing: Rhine deepening urgently required
According to Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing, a deepening of the navigation channel in the Middle Rhine must be carefully worked out despite its great economic importance. The FDP politician told the German Press Agency in an editorial interview in Mainz that simulations are currently being carried out at the Federal Waterways Engineering and Research Institute in Karlsruhe to determine the specific effects of deepening the navigation channel on sediment deposition.
The Rhine is an important mode of transport and at the same time a complex ecosystem. "There are valuable biotopes there and we need to know how the planned deepening will affect them," said Wissing. The deepening must come quickly, but it must be designed in such a way that it is in harmony with ecological concerns.
The deepening of the navigation channel has been under discussion for a long time, especially since the years of low water, which slowed down shipping in some places. The idea is to deepen the navigation channel between St. Goar and Mainz from a guaranteed 1.90 meters to 2.10 meters throughout in relation to a defined water level.
Environmentalists are very critical of the project. The neighboring federal states of Rhineland-Palatinate, Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia and Baden-Württemberg as well as the local industry, on the other hand, have all campaigned for a deepening. Most recently, Wissing set up a commission that presented a comprehensive report on acceleration measures for the deepening of the Rhine.
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Source: www.stern.de
