What seemed almost impossible 1.5 years ago has now been achieved. The Zweckverband Region Finowkanal (Finow Canal Regional Association) is going to renovate and modernise the first 6 historic locks on the Finow Canal and operate and maintain them permanently. In this first package, the 6 locks Ruhlsdorf, Leesenbrück, Grafenbrück, Schöpfurt, Heegermühle and Wolfswinkel will be taken over by the federal government and are part of the current planning.

After the financing agreement between the General Directorate for Waterways and Shipping (GDWS) and the Zweckverband Region Finowkanal was signed in November 2020 to finance all 12 locks, the Zweckverband has now also received the important grant notification for the first lock package from the Investment Bank of the State of Brandenburg.

The overall financing of this first lock package is secured. The investment costs for the first lock package amount to about 41.6 million euros. With the federal government's financial contribution, 50 % of these costs have been secured. For the remaining half of the costs, the ILB approved a grant of about 19.7 million euros, which corresponds to a funding level of about 95 %.

However, the construction measures are also accompanied by the fact that the locks in question cannot be used during the construction period.

The approval planning phase is currently underway. Depending on the results of this planning phase and the tendering process for the construction work, the basic overhaul of the Ruhlsdorf, Leesenbrück and Grafenbrück locks and the expansion of the remote monitoring of the control center at the Zerpenschleuse lock will take place from the end of 2022. The basic overhaul of the Heegermühle and Wolfswinkel locks and the automation of the Schöpfurt lock are expected to begin at the end of 2023. Like the scoop belt locks, all other locks are also automated.

As soon as an exact construction schedule is available, you will find more information on the navigability of the respective canal sections here.