Construction Day: More than 55,000 people visit over 160 construction sites in the Netherlands

Despite the hot weather, tens of thousands of people visited the more than 160 construction sites that were open to the public on Saturday as part of the annual Construction Day. "There were certainly as many as last year, although we have not yet received all the visitor numbers," a spokesperson for organizer Bouwend Nederland said.

According to the spokesperson, the counter currently stands at around 55,000 visitors. "These are very nice numbers. There is a lot of interest in the construction and in some places, people were already sitting outside the gates waiting to be let in." The organization hopes that this great interest will lead to young people choosing a career in construction. "Because we could really use additional staff," according to the spokesperson.

Visitors were able to walk through the empty Binnenhof in The Hague. The complex, which includes the Senate and the Tweede Kamer, is currently undergoing renovation. Therefore, pre-registration was required. People could also see the restoration of the fire-damaged Onze Lieve Vrouw Geboorte-Good Shepherd church in Hoogmade, as well as the refurbishment of the Grote Markt in Groningen. In Leeuwarden, builders offered a look at the progress of the construction of the new Cambuur stadium and visitors were also able to visit the widening of the A1 East near Twello.

On Construction Day, an initiative of the industry association Bouwend Nederland, construction and infrastructure companies open up construction sites that are normally closed to the public. The event is now in its 16th year and attracts tens of thousands of people every year. Minister Hugo de Jonge (Housing and Spatial Planning) officially opened the day at a housing project in Rotterdam-Zuid.

Earlier this week, Bouwend Nederland chairman Arno Visser said that "all hands are on deck" to minimize the impact of the problems in the construction industry. The sector is in a difficult situation, due in part to increased interest rates and regulations. According to the latest calculations by the Economic Institute for Construction, construction output, especially residential construction, appears to be falling even more than expected this year as well as next year.