Zur Frage einer Infrastrukturlücke Ostdeutschlands gegenüber Westdeutschland

The paper analyses the infrastructure provision in East Germany mainly by an examination of existing literature. At the time of German unification 1990, infrastructure in East Germany was in a very bad condition. After more than ten years of rebuilding, most of the remaining need for infrastructure investments is probably in the road sector. Therefore, the planned new motorway connections to Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania as well as to Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia will have to be completed and, furthermore, numerous defects of regional and local road networks will continuously have to be repaired. In the railway sector, the high-speed route Nuremberg-Erfurt as well as improvements in the existing network (as far as they are justified by the prospective transport demand) are on the agenda. The least need for investments is left in the telecommunications and – after realization of current investment plans – in the airport sectors.