By Philip Blenkinsop
BERLIN, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Germany counted the cost on Wednesday of failed plans to launch a money-spinning system to charge highway tolls for trucks passing through the country and smarted at the damage done to the proud "Made in Germany" label.
The German government should by now have been earning 2.1 billion euros per year from a pioneering toll system using satellites to track trucks. Instead, after two failed launches and tortuous talks with developers the plan has been ditched.
Transport Minister Manfred Stolpe announced on Tuesday that the collapse was set to cost the government about 6.5 billion euros ($8.3 billion). Industry is still assessing the bill.
Deutsche Telekom and DaimlerChrysler were leading the project.
Germany's depressed construction sector fears that the loss of toll revenue could cut the money available for infrastructure projects by 2.8 billion euros, threatening 70 projects.
Germany has extensive plans to widen its highways, to link its high-speed railway lines with its European neighbours and to upgrade infrastructure for when it hosts the soccer World Cup in 2006.
"It's been enormously time-wasting. Almost a quarter of 2004 will have passed and we are left with such uncertainty," Michael Knipper, head of the HDB construction association told Reuters.
"Some 70,000 jobs are under threat," he said. "It's the last thing we need after eight years of crisis in the sector."
The government has been quick to insist that infrastructure spending this year was not in danger. However, it is unclear where Germany, which is set to bust EU budget rules for a third year in 2004, will find the money.
The finance and transport ministry were seeking to settle the financing of infrastructure projects and bring proposals to the Bundestag on March 4, a finance ministry spokesman said.
EVEN TRUCKERS COMPLAIN
The BGL federation of goods transporters, far from welcoming the lack of a toll, is now complaining about the 50 million euros already spent installing computers in trucks in readiness.
"We weren't actually against the toll and indeed it was a way to level the playing field in Europe," the BGL's Deputy Director Adolf Zobel told Reuters.
German truckers had hoped the toll, on all trucks passing through Germany, would lead to a rebate on fuel oil tax, lowering costs for German firms.
Zobel said the German share of road transport passing through Germany was steadily falling -- to 25 percent of all business through the European crossroads.
German industry is feeling the damage to its image after the failure of the toll consortium to deliver the state-of-the-art technology which had rich export potential.
"Germany's reputation as a hi-tech location has taken a knock... This damage to the image of "Made in Germany" will have a lasting effect," Anton Boerner, the head of the BGA foreign and wholesale trade association told Berliner Zeitung.
The newspaper carried a cartoon showing a smouldering wreck of toll equipment and European Commission President Romano Prodi pondering over a label reading "Made in...".
Michael Fuchs, head of equity management at AM Generali Invest, agreed Germany's image as a centre of innovation had been damaged, but believed it was more of a one-off.
"Germany still produces the best cars and machines in the world," he said.