It has been confirmed that a historic bridge in the Netherlands, in Rotterdam, will be removed to clear the passage of a large yacht built for Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon. The luxury yacht is being developed by Dutch company Oceanco and last year it was passed to Bezos. It is known that the vessel is 127 meters long and that it is too high to cross over the Koningshoeven Bridge.
Read more: Engineering giants: See which are the 10 largest bridges in the world.
see more
Company launches the 1st "flying saucer" for crew members; meet…
Mercury entered Leo; find out how it will impact your sign
The spokesman for the mayor said that Bezos will pay for the removal of the bridge with the service of Oceanco. However, making this change is a controversial issue, as the bridge is recognized as a national monument. In the period from 2014 to 2017, this bridge underwent renovations that made it unusable.
global news agency
According to AFP, the mayor's office claimed that the construction of the yacht created many jobs, which inspired plans to demolish the bridge. The city has also committed to rebuilding the bridge in its current form. "It's the only way to the sea," said the mayor's spokesman.
The project leader, Marcel Walravens, said that the construction of the luxury yacht would not be possible elsewhere, and that is why this mobilization took place. He reported to the Rijnmond website that the project was “very important” from an economic perspective, and brought Rotterdam as a reference in the navy of Europe. He also highlighted that “shipbuilding and activity in this sector are an important pillar of the municipality”.
Walravens also said that the stretch would be covered by the yacht in the summer and that authorities expected the removal and replacement of the bridge to take place shortly, within weeks.
In addition, some details regarding luxury yachts being built by Oceanco surfaced in the previous year. The company remains silent, however, a Bloomberg biography of Bezos in 2021 reaffirms suspicions that he would own the business.
Called the Y721, the vessel will be the largest in the world in its category, according to Boat International. There is also speculation that she has many luxury features, such as a “support yacht” that accompanies the boat and a platform with a helipad.
Bezos is considered the 3rd richest in the world
Forbes magazine estimates that Bezos is worth US$175 billion (about R$924.7 billion) and is currently recognized as the third richest person in the world. He is also the biggest name in the e-commerce industry, owner of the Washington Post and the space company Blue Origin.