Skip to main content

Amsterdam’s Zuidas project criticised over possible disruptions

Amsterdam businesses, many of them global companies, face a decade of traffic disruption and noise when road works start in the Netherlands capital’s financial district. Among the projects in Zuidas will be putting the A10 ring road into a tunnel, the Financieele Dagblad newspaper reported. The Zuidas is a rapidly developing business district in the city of Amsterdam in the Netherlands. The Zuidas, also known as the 'Financial Mile', lies between the rivers Amstel and Schinkel along the ringroad A10.
April 27, 2015 Read time: 2 mins
Quiet before the storm in Amsterdam's Zudias district
Amsterdam businesses, many of them global companies, face a decade of traffic disruption and noise when road works start in the Netherlands capital’s financial district.

Among the projects in Zuidas will be putting the A10 ring road into a tunnel, the Financieele Dagblad newspaper reported.

The Zuidas is a rapidly developing business district in the city of Amsterdam in the Netherlands. The Zuidas, also known as the 'Financial Mile', lies between the rivers Amstel and Schinkel along the ringroad A10. Large multinationals such as ING Group, ABN-Amro, and Akzo Nobel already have their headquarters in the area. The World Trade Center Amsterdam has recently been renovated and expanded.

The greatest influences for the development of the Zuidas are La Défense in Paris and Canary Wharf in London. In area’s railway station, Amsterdam Zuid will become the second main station of Amsterdam.

The transport ministry reportedly will not impose strict conditions on noise and traffic disruptions on the project but wants to see what conditions the winning contractors will self-impose.

The first contracts for the €1.9 billion project will go to tender in the next several weeks for work to start in 2017.

But opposition is growing to the project, including among former supporters such as former city council alderman Duco Stadig. He says revised traffic forecasts means the project mayu not be value for money.

The Zuidasdok project involves widening the A10 and placing part of it and the railway underground. Supports claim this will improve air quality and accessibility to the area, as well as create more space for housing.

The Amsterdam entrepreneurs’ association Oram says the noise issue should be left up to builders. “This is the most expensive location in the Netherlands,” a spokesman said. “The construction period could easily drag out to 15 years.”

Related Content

  • IRF chairman and mayor of Riyadh discussed the forthcoming IRF conference with World Highway
    April 12, 2013
    Every four years, for the last 60 years, the International Road Federation (IRF) has brought transportation officials and experts from around the world together in one place for the IRF World Meeting & Exhibition. This is the premiere global event for transportation professionals. The 17th IRF World Meeting & Exhibition is set to happen in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, November 9–13, 2013, and features a compelling executive and interactive session programme and a peer-reviewed technical and scientific session prog
  • Angry UK councils want utility companies to pay for road closures
    August 17, 2016
    An umbrella body of 370 local authorities in the UK wants towns and cities to charge utility companies for digging up roads and disrupting traffic. The Local Government Association, representing English and Welsh members says too many roads are blocked due to lane closures because of digging to repair pipes and communication lines. The LGA said it should be easier for local councils to introduce lane rental schemes if needed, without the requirement to get approval from the central government. A la
  • Eiffage to revamp Paris ring road interchange at Quai d'Ivry
    June 19, 2015
    Eiffage has won a contract to restructure the Quai d’Ivry interchange on the Paris ring road. Eiffage’s Public Works division picked up the €48 million deal within Paris’s 13th arrondissement. The 40-month contract was awarded by Paris’s development agency SEMAPA -- Société d’Etude, de Maitrise d’Ouvrage et d’Aménagement Parisienne. Eiffage said in a statement that the contract involves “every area of expertise offered by the Public Works division, including civil engineering, steel construction an
  • World growth in geosynthtics set to rise
    February 17, 2012
    With geosynthetics sales set to grow rapidly in the next three years, manufacturers are preparing for the demand. Patrick Smith reports. Global demand for geosynthetics is projected to increase 5.3% annually to 4.7 billion m² in 2013 with countries such as China, India and Russia expected to post the strongest gains through the forecast period. All are building large-scale infrastructure developments and face evolving environmental protection regulations and strict building construction codes.