The director of Amsterdam's ambitious Zuidas development project is stepping down by 1 August and will seek another position within the city council.
The director of Amsterdam's ambitious Zuidas development project is stepping down by 1 August and will seek another position within the city council.
Jan Stoutenbeek, who has spent the last 10 years working on the Zuidas project, has decided to quit following reworking of the original concept. One of the potential changes involves the possible scrapping of the underground infrastructure tunnel championed by Stoutenbeek.
Amsterdam's plan to redevelop the Zuidas business district in the south of the Dutch capital has been threatened in recent months by the lack of financing, as private investors rejected the investment proposal put forward by the city council.
The Zuidas is the largest and most ambitious real estate project in the Netherlands and is intended to make Amsterdam more competitive internationally. The EUR 4bn development involves moving the entire infrastructure - including the highway and train lines - to an underground tunnel to make space for 2.7 million m2 of houses, offices and services at ground level.
The works is to be carried out by the new dedicated Zuidas company. The main stakeholders are Amsterdam city council (20% ), the Dutch government (20%) and the rest by private parties.
A spokesperson for the municipality of Amsterdam said that the city continues to support the underground tunnel but added that the city is also considering possible alternatives.
