Citizens beat the billionaire. The historic bridge should not be demolished for the sake of Bezos’ mega yacht.

A historic bridge in Rotterdam was to be dismantled to make way for Jeff Bezos’s massive 500 million masted yacht. After a lot of protests, the shipyard is now backing down.

A historic bridge in the Dutch port city of Rotterdam has yet to be dismantled after all. The original plan was to dismantle the 95-year-old Koningshavenbrug, known colloquially as “De Hef,” to make room for the superyacht under construction by Amazon founder and billionaire billionaire Jeff Bezos.

The sailing ship with the working name Y721, costing 500 million francs, will be equipped with masts about 70 meters high. Although “De Hef” is a lift bridge, the Bezos cutter still cannot pass through it. So the shipyard planned to remove the middle section of the bridge and re-place it after it passed.

Residents plan to attack

After this plan became known in February, there was a huge protest among the residents of Rotterdam. The idea of ​​sacrificing a listed bridge for a billionaire status symbol has repelled the people of Rotterdam. “Resistance groups” formed on Facebook, which planned, among other things, to bombard the yacht with eggs as it passed.

The disapproval of the population also caused a reaction from the politicians. After the city administration had previously indicated that the demolition had already been approved, the mayor of Rotterdam announced after the protests that no request had been received from the shipyard.

Shipyard Retreats

There would probably be no reason to fight an egg fight. Shipbuilder Oceanco has informed the city that it no longer aims to dismantle “De Hef”. annoying Trouw fears sabotaging the company, and employees have been threatened.

It’s unclear how the Y721, which was supposed to be completed this summer, will last. Oceanco has not provided any information on this, but it is likely that the yacht will now be transferred without masts to another shipyard with direct access to the sea and be completed there.