BERLIN. At the German Ports Reception in Berlin this June, leading politicians and secretaries of the state ministries responsible for the seaports asked the German government to assist with port expansion. The core message of the event was clear: there is no energy transition without functioning ports and no port expansion without joint financing. “We assume responsibility for the entire country and have proven time and again that we’re capable of quickly planning, approving and punctually delivering the necessary infrastructure. But we as states can’t finance everything ourselves over the long term. We need to work with the German government to develop solutions,” said Olaf Lies, Lower Saxony’s Minister for Economic Affairs (3rd from left). Kristina Vogt, Bremen Senator for Economic Affairs, Ports and Transformation, (centre) supports the position shared by the coastal states: “The ports play a key role in securing supplies for our country and therefore the German economy. 300 million tonnes of goods pass through the seaports of the coastal states annually, which is linked to around 1.3 million jobs.”
Credits: Seaports of Niedersachsen
