The Netherlands has a foundation problem, according to advice from the Living Environment and Infrastructure (Rli) Council. 425,000 buildings are sinking already or within ten years.
This usually concerns pre-1970 buildings that stood on wooden piles or directly on the ground. Foundations can be damaged by low water tables, drought, or nearby works.
Rli concludes that the approach to landing is not good enough. The Council calls on the government to move quickly to limit the damage as much as possible. If all advice is followed, this will cost a total of €12.5 billion over the next 12 years. Otherwise, damages could reach 54 billion euros.
According to Rli, this could lead to a national institution crisis if the government does not intervene in time. The number of existing buildings could double to nearly a million.
The council provided the advice at a press conference on Thursday. The report was presented to outgoing Minister Hugo de Jonge (Public Housing) and Mark Harpers, outgoing Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management.
