Dutch state buys temporary EMA building for €42.8 million

The Dutch government is buying the Spark building in Amsterdam, where the European Medicines Agency (EMA) will be temporarily accommodated until construction of its new building on the Zuidas is complete, ANP reports.

Central government real estate agency Rijksvastgoedbedrijf is paying 42.8 million euros for the Spark building, which is located right next to Amsterdam-Sloterdijk station. The government initially planned to rent the building for 10 years, but buying it turned out to be cheaper, the Ministry of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations announced on Thursday.

The EMA will move from London to Amsterdam by no later than March 30th, 2019, but the first employees will likely come to the Dutch capital earlier. The Spark building will be ready for them from mid-January.

The new EMA building on Zuidas is set to be complete by mid-November next year. Once the EMA moved out of the Spark building, it will be used to house government services, according to the news wire.