Amsterdam to build over 50,000 new homes by 2025

The municipality of Amsterdam plans to construct 52,500 new homes in the next seven years, responsible alderman Laurens Ivens announced. The main risk for these ambitious construction plans may be the shortage of construction workers, he said, AD reports.

"The plans are there. Hopefully we can find enough construction workers and the state will cooperate", Ivens said while presenting the municipality's plans on Thursday. The city wants to build 7,500 homes per year in its period of government. The rest will be built in the years thereafter.

This "historically high number of new constructions" is needed to keep the city's popularity on track, to keep up with the population's growth, and to ease the pressure on the overheating housing market, Ivens said. The homes will be spread out over the existing city, especially around the IJ, on IJburg, Zeeburgereiland and on Zuidas. 

In order to meet the target of 52,500 new homes in seven years, the office of mayor and aldermen devised plans for 73,093 new homes, expecting that a quarter of these plans will fall through or be delayed. Around 24 thousand of these new homes will be social rental housing, some 12 thousand will have mid-level rents and 8,500 expensive rents. Over 20 thousand owner occupied homes are also on the plans.