WIGES Wasserbauliche Infrastrukturgesellschaft mbH

WIGES Wasserbauliche Infrastrukturgesellschaft mbH (WIGES GmbH) is a German company based in Munich that specializes in the planning and execution of hydraulic engineering and waterway infrastructure projects. According to its official website, WIGES takes over the planning and handling of water infrastructure measures for public and private clients, covering the entire project cycle: land acquisition, regulatory and permitting procedures, construction supervision, and final accounting. Its work is focused on waterways, locks, canals, weirs, hydropower facilities, and related infrastructure. The company traces its origins to the Rhein-Main-Donau AG (RMD AG), which was founded on 30 December 1921 in Munich under the leadership of the German Reich and the Free State of Bavaria. The original mission of RMD AG was to use revenues from hydropower to develop the Main and Danube rivers into major shipping routes and to build the Main-Danube Canal as the connecting link. WIGES states that it has thus been working for more than 100 years on the continuous navigability of the Main-Danube waterway, from the Main at the border with Hesse to the Danube at the border with Austria. The first RMD power plant, the Untere Mainmühle plant in Würzburg, went into operation in 1924. Over the decades, around 60 hydropower plants with lock facilities for large-scale shipping, and on the upper Danube also for recreational boating, were commissioned along the Main, the upper Lech, the Danube, and the Main-Danube Canal with its tributaries. The Main-Danube Canal, built between 1962 and 1992, is described by WIGES as a milestone in history: as Europe's highest waterway, it has 16 locks with lifting heights of up to 24.70 meters. In the course of the privatization of Rhein-Main-Donau AG, from January 1995 the current Uniper group acquired 77.49 percent, the RWE-affiliated Lechwerke 14 percent, and EnBW 8.50 percent of the RMD power plant division. The facilities necessary for the operation and maintenance of the Main-Danube waterway—locks, canals, and weir systems—were transferred entirely into the ownership of the German federal government. They are now maintained and operated by the Wasserstraßen- und Schifffahrtsämter Aschaffenburg, Schweinfurt, and Donau/MDK, which are subordinate to the Generaldirektion Wasserstraßen und Schifffahrt. WIGES GmbH itself was founded in 1999 as a spin-off or successor entity from this context, taking over planning and project management tasks for water infrastructure. The company remains active in the field of waterway infrastructure, serving as a specialized engineering and project management partner for hydraulic engineering projects in Germany.

The history of WIGES Wasserbauliche Infrastrukturgesellschaft mbH is closely tied to the history of the Rhein-Main-Donau AG (RMD AG), a company founded on 30 December 1921 in Munich under the leadership of the German Reich and the Free State of Bavaria. The original purpose of RMD AG was to use revenues generated from hydropower to develop the Main and Danube rivers into major shipping routes and to construct the Main-Danube Canal as a connecting waterway. This ambitious infrastructure program aimed to create a continuous navigable route from the Main River at the border with Hesse to the Danube River at the border with Austria. The first RMD power plant, the Untere Mainmühle plant in Würzburg, began operation in 1924. Over the following decades, approximately 60 hydropower plants with lock facilities for large-scale shipping—and on the upper Danube also for recreational boating—were commissioned along the Main, the upper Lech, the Danube, and the Main-Danube Canal with its tributaries. A major milestone was the construction of the Main-Danube Canal between 1962 and 1992. As Europe's highest waterway, it features 16 locks with lifting heights of up to 24.70 meters. In the context of the privatization of Rhein-Main-Donau AG, from January 1995 the current Uniper group acquired 77.49 percent, the RWE-affiliated Lechwerke 14 percent, and EnBW 8.50 percent of the RMD power plant division. The facilities required for the operation and maintenance of the Main-Danube waterway—locks, canals, and weir systems—were transferred entirely into the ownership of the German federal government. They are now maintained and operated by the Wasserstraßen- und Schifffahrtsämter Aschaffenburg, Schweinfurt, and Donau/MDK, which are subordinate to the Generaldirektion Wasserstraßen und Schifffahrt. WIGES GmbH itself was founded in 1999, emerging from this institutional context. The company took over planning and project management tasks for water infrastructure, continuing the engineering and development legacy of RMD AG in a specialized, service-oriented form. Today, WIGES operates as a private company based in Munich, offering planning, land acquisition, permitting, construction supervision, and accounting services for waterway infrastructure projects. Its work supports the ongoing maintenance and development of Germany's federal waterways, particularly the Main-Danube corridor.

• 1999

  WIGES Wasserbauliche Infrastrukturgesellschaft mbH founded, continuing RMD AG's water infrastructure planning and project management activities.

• 1995

  Privatization of RMD AG: Uniper (77.49%), Lechwerke (14%), and EnBW (8.50%) acquire the power plant division; waterway facilities transferred to the German federal government.

• 1992

  Main-Danube Canal completed as Europe's highest waterway with 16 locks.

• 1962

  Construction of the Main-Danube Canal begins (completed 1992).

• 1924

  First RMD power plant, Untere Mainmühle in Würzburg, begins operation.

• 1921

  Rhein-Main-Donau AG founded on 30 December in Munich by the German Reich and the Free State of Bavaria.

Specialized engineering and project management partner for public waterway infrastructure, with over 100 years of institutional heritage from the Rhein-Main-Donau AG.

• Waterway infrastructure planning and project management

  Comprehensive planning and execution services for hydraulic engineering projects, including land acquisition, permitting, construction supervision, and accounting.

1. 1Home | WIGES GmbHwiges-gmbh.de
2. 2Firmengeschichte | WIGES GmbHwiges-gmbh.de
3. 3WIGES Wasserbauliche Infrastrukturgesellschaft mbH - Wikidatawikidata.org