Home builders want to help pay for new Utrecht tram line

Project developer BPD announced this today at the real estate fair Provada. BPD owns a lot of land in the future new construction area. Companies such as Ballast Nedam and Utrecht housing corporations also support the offer.

The tram line, which is to connect Rijnenburg to the rest of the city, will be a branch of the Merwede line, which is planned between Utrecht Centraal and Nieuwegein. The total cost of this branch is approximately 600 million euros, of which the consortium of project developers is now making 200 million euros available.

According to former professor of area development Friso de Zeeuw, it is special that companies offer to help pay for a public transport connection. "Companies always pay for facilities in a neighbourhood through land development, but we don't often see that companies have an extra contribution to make to realise a public transport connection."

According to De Zeeuw, this offer mainly helps to shorten the construction time of the district, because finding a budget for public transport connections is often preceded by a lengthy political decision-making process.

New residential area Rijnenburg is to be built in a vacant polder of 1000 hectares south of Utrecht, just below the A12. It is one of the larger residential areas in the Netherlands where construction can start relatively quickly, in 2030. Ultimately, it should become a densely built-up urban area with many high-rise buildings. According to Utrecht alderman Eelco Eerenberg, an extra tram line is the only way to get the construction of Rijnenburg off the ground.

There are simply not enough roads in the area to get the residents of the 25,000 future homes to and from their homes in another way. The A12 is also already overcrowded. "With this collaboration, never seen before in the Netherlands, we show as a region and private parties: we are ready for it."

According to Esther Agricola, regional director of BPD Noord-West, Utrecht is a magnet for housing and one of the fastest growing cities in the Netherlands. "The new tram line will be a lifeline for this area. We are making this investment offer for the expansion of the Merwede line to enable the construction of the district and all the facilities that go with it."

The caretaker cabinet is now up to pick up the remaining bill for the new tram line. Housing Minister Mona Keijzer (Housing) had received billions of euros to get housing construction in the Netherlands going, including a specific budget for infrastructure investments. The question is whether the Lower House will give room to make these kinds of decisions in the coming months, in the run-up to the elections at the end of October.

The greenery on the residential towers also needs to be maintained. This is done by 'flying gardener' Remco, among others, as you can see in this video: