Rotterdam to partly dismantle historic bridge for Jeff Bezos’s superyacht
A historic steel bridge in the Dutch port city of
Rotterdam is to be partly dismantled to allow a superyacht built for
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos to pass, local authorities have announced.
Bezos’s
gigantic, 430-million-euro ($485m) yacht is too big for the iconic
Koningshaven Bridge, which dates from 1878 and was rebuilt after being
bombed by the Nazis in 1940 during the second world war.
The
shipyard building the three-masted mammoth in Alblasserdam, near
Rotterdam, has asked the local council to remove the bridge’s central
section so it can pass through.
“It’s the only
route to the sea,” a spokesperson for the mayor of Rotterdam told AFP,
adding that the Amazon owner would foot the bill for the operation.
The decision has angered some in the Netherlands
as the local council promised after a major renovation in 2017 that it
would never again dismantle the bridge, known to Rotterdammers as De
Hef.
The mayor’s office emphasised the economic benefits and jobs created by
the construction of the boat, but promised that the bridge would be
rebuilt in its current form.
The middle section of the huge steel-girdered bridge will be removed to
give enough clearance for the 40-metre (130-foot) high boat, Dutch media
reported.
The process will take a few weeks and is expected to happen this summer.
Bezos, 57, is one of the world’s richest men after transforming online bookseller Amazon into a global shopping giant.
