13.11.2025

Assessment of the Economic Impact of Selected ASFINAG Project

Study by WIFO and Eco Austria Presented

At a press conference on 13 November 2025, Mobility Minister Peter Hanke, ASFINAG Executive Director Hartwig Hufnagl, WIFO Regional Economist Gerhard Streicher and Wolfgang Schwarzbauer, Head of Regional Economic Policy and Foreign Trade Research at Eco Austria, presented the evaluation report on several road construction projects.

The aim of this study is to estimate the macroeconomic and regional economic effects associated with the construction and operation of selected ASFINAG road construction projects; the results are to be integrated into ASFINAG's project-specific test reports.

For the construction phase, the investment structures were examined using WIFO's regional input-output model ASACANIO; the effects during the operational phase were estimated using the EcoAustria accessibility model. The results for both phases were combined in a present value analysis. The results for both phases were combined in a present value analysis, thereby supplementing the economic dimension of the project assessment reports.

"Infrastructure investments form a central basis for economic growth and the competitiveness of a location. Their overall economic impact only unfolds in the interaction between construction and operation. Our study focuses on the economic aspects of the projects and thus contributes to a comprehensive assessment, which naturally also includes social and ecological considerations," says WIFO economist Gerhard Streicher.