Germany's government wants to give Autobahn GmbH limited borrowing powers and access to part of the truck toll. Bill 21/8868 is scheduled for its first reading on Friday, 6 November, according to a Bundestag report dated 3 November. The reform has not thereby been enacted. Bundestag report
The proposal would establish three financing pillars: budget funds, user financing and private capital. The government says the company is currently financed entirely through the federal budget and consequently depends on annual budget preparation. It cites substantial financial challenges from growing repair needs as the reason for changing the arrangement. Bundestag report
The existing ban on market borrowing would be removed from the law establishing the infrastructure company. Autobahn GmbH would gain explicit authority to raise debt through loans and bonds. To service that debt, it would receive the infrastructure-cost component of the truck toll on the relevant federal trunk roads. The report identifies a specific component, rather than all toll receipts. Bundestag report
The bill would also provide for a public-law right to derive revenue from federally administered trunk roads, to be transferred to the company. The Federal Highway Authority's supervisory powers would be adjusted as well. Bundestag report
The next identified parliamentary step is the first reading on 6 November. The report reviewed gives neither a specific borrowing amount nor a commencement date. Submitting the bill therefore does not establish that borrowing has already occurred or that an additional investment sum has been paid out. Bundestag report