Cabinet sets aside €18bn for ageing bridges, locks and roads, shelving other projects

The cabinet is setting aside €18bn to maintain and renew ageing bridges, roads, locks and other infrastructure. A large part of the money comes from planned projects that already had funding reserved and are now shelved.

Why it matters

• A total of 175 roads, locks, bridges, viaducts and tunnels are to be renewed.
• Projects such as the wider lock at Kornwerderzand and the faster ferry route to Ameland will not go ahead for now.
• The Tweede Kamer debates the plans after the autumn recess.

The Haringvlietbrug, which links the Hoeksche Waard with Goeree-Overflakkee, receives money for renewal. The pumping station in IJmuiden gets €2.3bn. According to the cabinet, it keeps the feet of four million people dry.

Minister Karremans of Infrastructure said: "We face the biggest renewal task ever, it is time for a new reconstruction of our infrastructure." He said the Netherlands must stay protected from water while remaining "accessible and economically strong".

What is cut, what is kept

Money for the Nedersaksenlijn, a new rail line, is kept. The widening of the lock at Kornwerderzand in Friesland is dropped, though the bridges there will still be replaced. The faster ferry route to Ameland, which required moving the ferry port, is not going ahead for now. The cabinet has also cut hundreds of millions from water quality and drought-prevention programmes.

In a letter to the Tweede Kamer, the cabinet acknowledges: "That naturally hurts. But this is the only way to carry out the large maintenance task." It stresses that the shelved projects are "not off the table".

Habtamu de Hoop (PRO) accused Karremans of "duct tape politics", saying he does some maintenance here and there and barely invests.