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The Infrastructure Future Act: An overview of the key changes

The Infrastructure Future Act (InfZuG) came into force, for the most part, on 29 July 2026. The Act is intended to simplify and shorten the planning and approval procedures required for the maintenance and expansion of transport infrastructure.

What does the Infrastructure Future Act regulate?

It is an omnibus bill that amends a total of 22 laws, including the Administrative Procedures Act, the sector-specific laws governing roads, railways and waterways, and environmental legislation. The objectives are to speed up procedures, promote digitalisation and ensure standardisation.

What is the significance of ‘overriding public interest’?

Certain projects, such as motorways, railways, new bridge replacements, service areas, and port, flood defence and coastal protection projects, are in the overriding public interest and must be given priority in proceedings. They are also in the interests of public safety and must be taken into account in the balancing of interests as a priority matter, including one of military relevance (see Section 20(1) of the General Railways Act (AEG) and Section 18(1) of the Waterways Act (WaStrG)). This does not entail an exemption from substantive requirements; environmental standards and the requirement to balance interests remain in force.

To what extent are proceedings being digitised?

The principle of exclusively electronic proceedings applies: submission, inspection, publication and participation generally take place digitally. Exceptions may apply where this is technically impossible or unreasonable.

In parallel, the Online Access Act is being amended: under the new Section 1a(5) of the Online Access Act (OZG), the federal government and the Länder are to link their administrative portals in accordance with Section 72a(2) of the Administrative Procedure Act (VwVfG) to form a single joint administrative portal by 31 December 2027 at the latest.

What changes are being made to the VwVfG regarding the planning approval procedure?

The procedural law governing planning approval is being largely revised. An overview of the changes:

  • Publication: Section 27a of the VwVfG
  • Display: Section 27b of the VwVfG
  • Confidentiality: Section 30 of the VwVfG
  • Submission of plans: Section 72a of the VwVfG
  • Hearing procedure: Section 73 of the VwVfG
  • Involvement of authorities: Section 73a of the VwVfG
  • Hearing: Section 73b of the VwVfG
  • Amendment of plans: Section 73c of the VwVfG
  • Cut-off date provision: Section 74(1), sentences 2 and 3, of the VwVfG
  • Approval of the plan: Section 74a of the VwVfG
  • Dispensability: Section 74b of the VwVfG
  • Period of validity: Section 75a of the VwVfG
  • Transitional provisions: Section 102b of the VwVfG

The cut-off date provision was only introduced during the parliamentary process: at the request of the project proponent, the factual and legal situation at the conclusion of the deliberations shall be decisive or, if no deliberations take place, six months after the expiry of the objection period. This limits ongoing changes to the plan.

What is the role of the project manager?

At any stage of the proceedings, the licensing authority may, with the project promoter’s consent and at the project promoter’s expense, appoint a third party as an administrative assistant and shall do so at the project promoter’s request. The project manager’s procedural tasks may include, for example, drawing up procedural plans, monitoring deadlines, coordinating expert reports, managing the quality of the documentation, conducting an initial assessment of the comments received, preparing for and chairing the public consultation meeting, and drafting the minutes and the decision. The authorisation decision itself is taken solely by the authority. Project promoters can therefore initiate the acceleration process themselves but bear the costs.

The role of the project manager has been supplemented in several places by the InfZuG: Section 73d of the VwVfG regulates it generally for all planning approval procedures; Section 17a of the AEG and Section 14f of the WaStrG refer to this and regulate only the bearing of costs; and, for landfill sites, Section 35a of the KrWG has been newly inserted. The ‘project manager’ is not a new concept: it is already provided for in Section 43g of the Energy Industry Act (EnWG), Section 29 of the Grid Expansion Acceleration Act: Transmission Grid (NABEG) and Section 2b of the 9th Federal Immission Control Ordinance (9. BImSchV).

Are certain assessments no longer required?

The spatial compatibility assessment is no longer required for numerous federal projects (Section 16(2) of the ROG). In many cases, a simple agreement suffices in place of formal consent; in some instances, consent is deemed to have been granted once the deadline has expired.

An environmental impact assessment is not required for certain alterations to railway lines (Section 14a of the Environmental Impact Assessment Act (UVPG)); exemptions apply to defence, transport and energy infrastructure projects (Section 14e of the UVPG). The replacement of bridges in anticipation of an expansion is exempt from an environmental impact assessment under Section 14c of the UVPG, provided that there is no increase in capacity.

Which changes affect nature conservation?

Compensation, replacement and financial compensation are available on an equal footing for projects in the overriding public interest. This point has been criticised during the legislative process: experts have highlighted a deviation from the previous order of priority and risks to local acceptance. The amendment to the Federal Nature Conservation Act comes into force on 1 February 2027.

What changes are being made to the Circular Economy Act?

The Circular Economy Act (KrWG) is also being amended: amongst other things, Section 35a KrWG introduces the option of appointing a project manager for planning approval procedures for landfill sites, and Section 37 KrWG, concerning early commencement, has been reworded. Under Section 35a KrWG, the authority may appoint a project manager at any stage of the procedure (see above).

In the case of early commencement, the previous time limit of six months with a single extension is abolished. Upon application and subject to revocation, provisional execution in stages is permitted, which now also covers modifications to the facility and preparatory work. The requirements include, amongst other things, a positive prognosis taking into account the comments of the public authorities, a legitimate or public interest, restriction to reversible measures, possession of the necessary private rights for the measures, and an obligation to pay compensation and restore the site. The obligation to restore the site to its previous condition is limited to a ‘substantially similar condition’.

How are ongoing proceedings handled?

For certain proceedings initiated by the end of 2027, the transitional provision in Section 102b VwVfG grants the authorities the discretion to continue applying the previous procedural law.

What should project developers and affected parties do now?

Project developers should check whether their project falls under the new preferential provisions and digitise documents at an early stage. For objectors, the following applies: deadlines and participation phases will be shorter and will predominantly take place online – anyone wishing to raise objections must take action earlier. In addition, the amendment to the Environmental Appeals Act, which concerns judicial protection, should be kept in mind.

Where can further information be found?

Mostly available in German only:

Mirjam Büsch
Rechtsanwältin | Associate

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