Netherlands economy will stall without urgent infrastructure investments: Heijmans CEO

The head of Dutch construction group Heijmans predicted a grim economic outlook for the Netherlands, saying the country will grind to a halt if the Cabinet does not take immediate action by investing more in the country's infrastructure. "The Cabinet must realize that this is an urgent problem," said Heijmans CEO Ton Hillen on Friday.

"If we do not invest now, it will cost twice as much," Hillen said. "The moment we can no longer transport goods on our roads, that will lead to economic damage for all of the Netherlands."

Hillen made the appeal for more investment in vital infrastructure during the publication of the construction firm's second quarter financial figures. "That is the backbone of our economy. You can't postpone it any longer," said Hillen. He wants to see more coordination between Dutch infrastructure agency Rijkswaterstaat and the country's construction sector to address critical issues.

"The infrastructure is currently in poor condition, and that is causing tremendous economic damage. Of course, it is good for Heijmans if we invest more in infrastructure in the future," the CEO acknowledged. "But as a taxpayer, I don't like this very much."

The poor state of infrastructure in the Netherlands was demonstrated this week at the Merwedebrug, a bridge that freight traffic can no longer cross because of its deterioration. "Roads wear out faster because cars are becoming larger and heavier," said Hillen.

"Take electric cars, for instance. They are much heavier than a normal diesel car." Hillen believes the Netherlands is poorly prepared for this development. "Our investments over the past 10 to 15 years have been too marginal, and we are now seeing the results."

It is not only the state of the roads, but the traffic situation upon them is also distressing, the CEO continued. "The roads are overcrowded, and people traveling from north to south are stuck in traffic every day."

That economic damage could be prevented if Rijkswaterstaat invested further in the Maasbrug and Waalbrug, two important bridges spanning the Maas and Waal Rivers, respectively, he said. "You can say that those roads are too busy, but those bridges are simply too narrow."

Heijmans itself will renovate four bridges in the coming period. The company is pleased it secured this order and said it is eager to contribute to the modernization of the infrastructure. "We have four bridges in a row. This allows us to design them uniformly, with lower underlying costs, while still modernizing them."

Hillen also cited a bridge in Beverwijk, which is now completely carbon neutral. "It is an example of how we try to contribute."