It was close, or the city of Groningen would not have had a Forum and would have lost tens of millions of euros. The NAM, headquartered in Assen, had to pay to make the building earthquake-resistant, but the gas extraction company resisted tooth and nail for months.
This is evident from documents released by the municipality of Groningen on Friday. The more than 2,600 documents have been examined by RTV Noord, RTV Drenthe, Follow the Money and Platform Authentic Journalism.
The construction of the Forum will start in 2012. At that time, earthquakes are not yet taken into account, because they mainly take place around Loppersum. Like two years later the soil is also shaking in the city of Groningenall alarm bells are ringing at City Hall.
An internal memorandum from the municipality of Groningen shows that a severe earthquake can cause ‘much damage’ to the Forum. So much so that it ‘will no longer be safe’ for visitors. That is why the municipality laid down in February 2015 construction quiet. The building then rises just a few meters above the ground.