The Eindhoven region can no longer handle the success of the high-tech industry, especially ASML. That reports the NRC. For example, new homes and roads must be built quickly, according to Brainport 1.3 billion euros is needed. ASML is willing to pay.
Patience in Brabant has run out, or so it goes according to NRC Brainport’s message during an administrative meeting next week. The economic success of the high-tech industry causes the necessary problems. Growing companies also mean more employees, but more homes are needed to accommodate them. And new roads must be created to keep the environment livable.
Brabant and local municipalities cannot handle this on their own. There is a plan for 1.3 billion euros to realize the houses and roads, of which the central government should contribute two thirds. The other part is supplemented by municipalities, the province and the business community. “If the growth engine of the Dutch economy does not want to come to a standstill, the government must now step in and support a plan worth 1.3 billion euros,” according to Brainport, according to NRC.
18,000 new employees
A major reason for the extra housing needed: the ever-growing ASML. By 2030, the Netherlands’ most important high-tech company expects to hire another 18,000 people. ASML employees often come from abroad. And yes, all those employees have to live somewhere too.
More than 50,000 additional homes are planned in the Eindhoven region for new employees and the local population. ASML is prepared to contribute to the realization of new homes. Sources around the company confirm this to NRC.
ASML wants to keep housing in the area affordable, also for the local population. House prices in the region are partly being pushed up because ASML employees have more budget for mortgage or rent thanks to their good salaries. This is on top of the already rising prices due to the tight housing market.
It is not known how much money the company is willing to pay. But it would be a multiple of previous public-private partnerships. For example, ASML already contributed 12.5 million euros in 2017 to improving the accessibility of the De Run campus in Veldhoven.
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