Bauer and Strabag to modernise the Erlangen lock on the Main–Danube Canal: a €380 million investment in the resilience of Europe’s inland waterways

A consortium comprising Strabag, its subsidiary Züblin, and the specialised civil engineering division Bauer Spezialtiefbau has been awarded a contract to replace the Erlangen lock in Germany on the Main–Danube Canal. The value of the contract is approximately €380 million.

The existing Erlangen lock was commissioned in the early 1970s. Due to its poor structural condition, the facility can no longer be effectively repaired, and a decision has therefore been made to construct a new lock.

The new lock will be built approximately 300 metres north of the existing structure. Construction will use continuous concrete methods designed to ensure greater durability. The contractors plan to minimise the number of joints in the structure, as these are often vulnerable points for wear and future maintenance.

The project includes the construction of a new lock chamber 12.5 metres wide and 190 metres long. It also provides for the construction of an approach structure, upper head, outlet structure, lateral water-saving basins and a bypass canal for water management on the Main–Danube Canal.

The bypass canal will be particularly important, as it will allow water to be routed parallel to the lock and improve water management efficiency. This is essential for stable canal operation, maintaining navigation and adapting infrastructure to modern technical and climate-related challenges.

The Main–Danube Canal will remain in operation throughout the construction period. The works are expected to continue until 2033. The existing lock will be closed only after the new facility has been completed.

Comment by the Institute of Danube Research

The modernisation of the Erlangen lock is a clear example of the EU’s long-term infrastructure policy in the field of inland waterway transport. This is not merely the replacement of an outdated engineering structure, but the preservation of the functionality of a key element of the water corridor connecting the Rhine, Main and Danube basins.

For the Danube region, the project is of strategic importance, as the Main–Danube Canal forms part of the broader European logistics system linking the North Sea, Central Europe and the Black Sea–Danube area. The stable operation of such facilities directly affects the competitiveness of river transport, the development of multimodal logistics and the reduction of pressure on road transport.

European practice demonstrates that critical water transport infrastructure requires not ad hoc repairs, but planned renewal that takes into account durability, water management and uninterrupted navigation.

Experts of the Institute of Danube Research believe that the Erlangen lock replacement project confirms the strategic role of inland waterways in European transport policy.

As always, we emphasise that for the Ukrainian Danube region, this is an additional argument in favour of the systematic modernisation of port, navigation and hydraulic infrastructure as part of Ukraine’s future integration into the European logistics space.