Germany eyes part-privatisation for infrastructure projects - paper

BERLIN (Reuters) - German Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel is weighing up a partial privatisation of infrastructure to allow private investors to co-finance the building of streets, schools and bridges, a German newspaper reported on Sunday.

Citing an interim report from an expert panel, the Welt am Sonntag paper said the Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy planned to establish funds from public-private partnerships in which cross-community construction projects could be bundled.

Insurers, institutional investors and ordinary citizens could participate in these funds, the paper said.

The panel also plans to suggest the creation of a transport infrastructure association that could collect private money to finance the construction of motorways, the paper said, which would correspond with plans at the transport ministry.

"We want a state organisation that can make use of private financing. Public-private construction partnerships are more economic," Transport Minister Alexander Dobrindt told the paper. "We're talking about projects in the magnitude of 15 billion euros ($17 billion)."

Leading economists have warned that the German economy is suffering from a lack of investment and have called on Chancellor Angela Merkel's coalition government to take steps to address the shortfall.

German insurer Allianz has said that it is eager to invest more of its 570 billion euros of funds in domestic infrastructure projects.

(Reporting by Caroline Copley; Editing by David Goodman)