Federal Council approves largest flood protection project
The Federal Council wants the ongoing work on the flood protection project on the Rhone to continue. It has approved a total credit of 1022 million Swiss francs for this purpose. The project will provide protection for 100,000 people and for material assets worth 10 billion francs.
With a length of 162 kilometers, the 3rd Rhone Correction (R3) is the largest flood protection project in Switzerland. It is intended to provide greater safety for the approximately 100,000 people who live on the valley floor, mostly on Valais cantonal territory and also on Vaud cantonal territory. In addition, the structure will protect property worth 10 billion Swiss francs against flooding. Some of the existing protective structures on the Rhone are already very old. Moreover, flood events with inundations and major damage in recent decades have shown the limits of the existing system. Therefore, R3 was tackled. For the realization of the first stage of R3 with particularly urgent measures and the planning of further measures, the Federal Assembly had approved a framework credit of CHF 169 million in 2009. After three extensions, this credit will expire in 2019.
Parliament must decide on overall credit
An overall credit is now required for the second implementation stage from 2020 to 2039. With this, the federal government ensures that sufficient funds for the project are reserved in the federal treasury. In its Message the Federal Council is proposing a total credit of CHF 1022 million to Parliament. These federal subsidies under the Hydraulic Engineering Act would cover around 62 percent of the total costs. In addition to the Federal Office for the Environment (flood protection), the Federal Roads Office is also contributing 2 percent (protection of national roads) to the costs of the 3rd Rhone Correction. The rest of the costs are borne by the cantons.
The total credit for R3 consists of a total of seven individual commitment credits: four commitment credits for the various priority measures and three commitment credits that are distributed over time and are used to finance smaller dam safety measures and general services such as higher-level studies. The release of the individual commitment credits is delegated to the Federal Council. The commitment of federal funds to the cantons will be granted for specific projects approved by the cantons. The federal subsidy is not paid out until the work has been completed.
A generation project
The second stage of the flood protection project in the Rhone Valley is planned for 20 years. On average, the annual federal costs amount to 51 million Swiss francs, which may vary depending on the progress of construction. In total, the cantons of Valais and Vaud as builders estimate the costs for the 3rd Rhone correction at 3.6 billion Fr. The construction period will last until about the middle of this century.
Source: Federal Council
