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November 27, 2003
Dark clouds over Germany
A couple of pieces of bad economic news here today. First off, the joint chip production plant, being built near Frankfurt/Oder by a group of investors including Intel, the Emirate of Dubai and the state of Brandenburg, looks as though it will not be completed. The investors have not provided enough of the calculated 1.3 billion Euros funding and the company formed for the purpose of building the plant will be liquidated. A blow to the region, with an estimated over 1000 new jobs not materializing.
Also today, another chapter in the never ending saga of the German toll collecting project. According to reports circulating, the toll collection "technology" will not be functional before August 2004 - at the earliest. However this date may not be relevant at all, as the German government can withdraw from the contract on the 15th of December - this year. That would leave Germany with a lot of non-functional toll-collecting bridges built over the autobahns. Due to the missing income (i.e. no "toll money") it now looks as though the German government will have to put many planned infrastructure projects on hold. This would include new roads due to be built for the Soccer WorldCup in 2006.
Posted by Matthew at November 27, 2003 11:32 PM