The plan foresees €21 billion would be spent on rail transport and €11.1 billion on the road network. Ten billion euros would be directed at the energy sector and €2.4 billion would be spent on promoting broadband expansion - especially in rural areas.
This, of course, depends firstly on the party being reelected in the federal elections this Autumn.
The chancellor announced the plans and emphasised the need for continued improvements in the country's transportation networks in a Monday press conference in Vienna. He was accompanied by Finance Minister Magnus Brunner - both of the conservative ÖVP.
More roads planned
Roads were a particular focus of the press conference.
A further 85 kilometres of roads would be built under Nehammer’s plan, including an extension to the S18 in Vorarlberg to ease congestion at the border with Switzerland.
The chancellor also specifically highlighted the Lobau tunnel, a proposed 8.2-kilometre tunnel that would form a bypass of the nation’s capital, as a project vital to Austria’s continued growth.
This tunnel has been delayed repeatedly due to ongoing impact studies carried out by the Ministry of Transport, which is currently headed by Leonore Gewessler of the Green Party.
Expansion of rail
The government has already approved much of the planned rail infrastructure improvements as part of plans announced in November 2023.
Many projects involve double-tracking routes, as is the case with work along the country’s main east-west line.
Further doubling of tracks, allowing more trains, will take place with lines connecting cities such as Graz with Slovenia and the Czech Republic.
However, several projects have been delayed, such as the expansion of tracks to more fully service the country’s south in Carinthia.
'We must not block the future'
Parties such as the Greens were singled out as responsible for the delays in road and rail projects during Monday’s press conference.
Nehammer identified the time spent assessing the impact of new infrastructure as a "delaying tactic that is no longer appropriate for the future".
He added that it was an "illusion to believe that there will be no more commuters in the future" and "that is why the argument against the road is an argument against the future, against development, against Austria as a business location and against Austria as a place to work."
“We must not block the future.”
'Misunderstood the term street campaign'
The responses to Nehammer’s plans were rapid - potentially fueling the crisis within the coalition as it heads towards the polls.
Transport Minister Gewessler was unaware of the contents of Nehammer’s press conference before Monday, and was quick to defend her record.
She stated: “We cannot continue as before if we want to protect the environment and the climate”, adding, "More roads also means being stuck in traffic jams on even more roads.
"I have changed this paradigm because we are building the infrastructure we need for the future.
"More and more people are taking the train, for example", she pointed out.
Others saw the press conference as a cynical move prompted by electoral doubts.
Douglas Hoyo, General Secretary of the liberal NEOS party was particularly biting: “The Chancellor has misunderstood the term street campaign, there is no other explanation for today's press conference.
“Instead of finally implementing Austria's important and urgent reforms, Nehammer is making a plea for road construction and is once again presenting all sorts of government projects that he has not implemented in recent years."
Sources within the far-right FPÖ told politics blog Fass ohne Boden: “Why are the federal states’ projects only being demanded now?”
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