Limited Opportunities to Invest in Infrastructure

During last weeks consultations, the national government, provinces, water boards, and municipalities made agreements on investments in our infrastructure. There are some notable milestones among ongoing projects. Unfortunately, no large new construction projects could be announced. This is because more and more money must be spent on maintenance and renewal of existing infrastructure. Additionally, ongoing projects face financial setbacks, for example due to rising costs caused by inflation and labor shortages. If we do not maintain our infrastructure properly, this will lead to unexpected failures and closures. Accessibility and mobility in the Netherlands will therefore come under further pressure.

In the future, less money will be available while the demand for mobility is increasing. Mid last year, it was calculated that the maintenance deficit amounts to over €36 billion: €1.8 billion for ProRail (rail) and €34.5 billion for Rijkswaterstaat (roads, waterways, and water system).

Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management Robert Tieman: “It is a bitter pill this year. Large construction projects are needed to keep the Netherlands accessible in the long term, but this is not possible now due to limited financial resources, little nitrogen space, and labor shortages. Necessary maintenance projects also face these challenges. It is up to the next cabinet to make choices regarding infrastructure investments. Meanwhile, we do what we can with the available funds. And a few nice milestones have been achieved on ongoing projects. For example, in the area of freight transport where we have been able to link €106 million to various projects.”

State Secretary for Infrastructure and Water Management Thierry Aartsen: “Good infrastructure keeps our society running. It is good that we have been able to make urgent investments in public transport, rail, and housing construction. These are good results. But more attention is needed for the structural importance of our infrastructure. We face a huge task to maintain and make the infrastructure resilient. Sharp choices are needed for a strong and resilient Netherlands so that more new homes can be built, our economy can grow, and people can travel quickly and reliably.”

€280 million is being invested in better traffic flow on highways. This includes small but important measures such as improving exits, making some junctions grade-separated, improving intersections and roundabouts, and improving regional connecting roads near the highway. The national government is contributing €17 million to build a fly-over over the Gieten traffic square and €19 million to make exit 55 of the A2 near Maastricht safer.

With the provision of (additional) budget by the national government, steps are being taken to improve accessibility in Flevoland and to open up the large housing construction task in this province. A MIRT exploration is being started for the A27 Zeewolde-Eemnes. This restarts a previously paused project. Additionally, the government is committed to restarting the A6 Almere Oostvaarders-Lelystad project at an appropriate time. Both projects were previously paused due to lack of money, workforce, and permit space related to nitrogen.

A MIRT exploration is also being started for the N33 North (Appingedam-Eemshaven). Solutions are being investigated for widening the road and the shore connection, improving accessibility and traffic safety. A budget of €252.5 million is available for this. Additionally, the national government and region want to restart the doubling of the N33 Middle with funds made available for the N33 in Nij Begun.

Agreements have been made to extend the Modal Shift Scheme and allocate an additional €9 million for it. This scheme encourages entrepreneurs to shift freight transport from road to inland shipping and rail. Additionally, wagonload transport on rail is supported with an investment of €30 million at the Kijfhoek Distribution Center. Also, €43 million is reserved to realize extra truck parkings along our freight corridors and beyond.

Research by Rijkswaterstaat shows that renovating the existing sluice gates at Den Oever and Kornwerderzand leads to major execution risks and high costs. Renovation also proves not future-proof due to climate change and sea level rise. Rijkswaterstaat will continue maintaining the existing sluice gates while simultaneously looking at the necessary, future-proof follow-up.

After the ongoing works are completed, there is good news for cyclists regarding the Afsluitdijk. The ministry has decided to realize temporary cycle bridges at Den Oever and Kornwerderzand. It is expected that by 2027 everyone can cycle again over the full 32 kilometers of the Afsluitdijk.

The ministry is allocating an additional €105.9 million to improve the station area in Den Bosch. This budget is intended, among other things, to increase capacity at the station, for a new bus station, and the widening of platforms. Many new homes will be built in the area around the station until 2034.

It has been agreed to accelerate the exploration of the Northwest connection. The bus on the hard shoulder on the A2 and A50 will also be prioritized and realized in 2026. The Eindhoven XL project to improve Eindhoven Central Station will continue. This will allow, among other things, a new station building on the north side to be realized, with an internal transfer to the fully underground bus station to be constructed.

Almost €100 million is going to the Veluwelijn. By allowing trains to turn at Harderwijk and additional level crossing measures, more trains can run between Amersfoort and Harderwijk. This better connects the entire area for new housing construction.

Lelylijn envoy Klaas Knot will soon provide advice on the possibilities to finance this rail connection. The construction is expected to require at least €14.5 billion.

The national government and region will also work on securing financing for the public transport connection between Amsterdam and Haarlemmermeer (OVAH). This connection with an above-ground metro requires a total of €4 to 7 billion. From 2039, €200 million will be structurally reserved for OVAH. It is up to the next cabinet to make a follow-up decision for this project.

Due to the construction of many new homes, the national government and region are investing over €1.8 billion in the Oude Lijn, the railway line between Leiden and Dordrecht. The planning phase is starting to improve Leiden Central, The Hague Laan van NOI, and Schiedam Centrum stations. Plans are also ready for Dordrecht station. Further elaboration is underway for increasing frequency to 8 sprinters per hour between The Hague and Dordrecht. By the end of 2026, the exploration for new stations Dordrecht Leerpark, Rijswijk Buiten, Schiedam Kethel, and Rotterdam Van Nelle and the necessary doubling of tracks between Delft and Schiedam will be completed. Approximately €2 billion more is needed for this, which the next cabinet must decide on.

Last November, the cabinet announced that a total of €3.4 billion would be distributed to enable housing construction. The money goes to the construction of roads, bike paths, tunnels, and tram lines that make new residential areas accessible. Investments were also made in necessary area-specific measures for housing projects, such as soil remediation, water and soil measures, or solutions for grid congestion. This enables the construction of 273,000 homes throughout the Netherlands through large and small projects, such as the Merwedelijn and Veluwewaalpad.