This week reports that the Dutch city had already agreed to isolate the recently renovated Koningshaven Bridge, which is known locally as d hefeAnger broke out. Locals on Facebook are proposing to throw rotten eggs into the yacht as it passes.
However, a spokesman for Mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb told the Associated Press on Friday that a shipbuilder has requested a temporary disassembly of the bridge this summer, but no permits have yet been sought or granted.
Many Rotterdam residents are still concerned.
“I think it’s easy to understand why it’s so controversial because it’s a very beautiful, recently restored old bridge,” said Lizet Tauber. “It’s really our legacy. And I think if the rich can pay to open it, which usually no one else can, then you get the controversy.”
In a written statement, Aboutlab, who is on a trip to Colombia, said that once a request for a permit is submitted it will be assessed based on factors including economic impact, environmental nuisance and potential risks to the bridge’s “monumental structure” Will go ,
“When the permit has been applied for, the municipality can take a decision, the details can be further elaborated and in the event of a positive decision a plan can be made,” the statement said.
(View of a yacht, reportedly being built for Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, at the pier in Zwijndrecht near Rotterdam.)
The municipality declined to comment on who owns the yacht or identify the shipbuilder. An email sent to Amazon seeking comment remained unanswered. A Bloomberg report in May 2021 stated that the yacht was being built by Oceanco for Bezos at a cost of “over $500 million”.
The current Hef Railway bridge was opened to trains crossing the Maas River in 1927 and was taken out of service in 1993 when it was replaced by a tunnel. Public protests saved it from demolition and eventually led to a three-year renovation that ended in 2017. The central part of the bridge can be raised to allow ships to pass under, but apparently not high enough for the new yacht’s masts.
Ton Veselink, president of the Rotterdam Historical Society, feared that the decision to allow a ferry through the bridge might set a precedent for others.
“The thing we don’t want is that this ferry issue will open up the possibility for shipbuilders to use it that way,” he said in an email to the AP.
But voices started rising in support of the proposal.
Rotterdam resident Rhea van den Vosten said, “I think it’s okay. Let Bezos pay a high price. It makes work. I only see the upside.”
“If it’s paid for and everyone makes some money, don’t complain. Don’t talk, but act, as we say in Rotterdam,” she said.
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