Amsterdam council debates Oostbrug cost explosion

Amsterdam’s city council returned on September 2 to the political fallout from the Oostbrug cost surge, after AT5 reporting and a freedom-of-information disclosure showed officials had discussed a far higher estimate before the March 18 municipal election. The planned bridge, linking Azartplein in the east of the city to the Hamerkwartier in Amsterdam-Noord, was long presented with a reserved budget of 325 million euros. By early June, a newer estimate put the project in a range of 650 million to 850 million euros, according to AT5. The debate at the Stopera was no longer only about engineering or mobility. It centered on whether then-mobility alderman Melanie van der Horst, who was also D66’s lead candidate in the March 2026 election, should have informed councillors earlier that the bridge was likely to cost more than double the amount long cited publicly. AT5 said the council ultimately accepted Van der Horst’s explanation for not sharing the preliminary estimate earlier, while also demanding more information in future cases of sharp cost increases. (at5.nl) ### How large is the Oostbrug overrun? AT5 reported that the bridge’s cost estimate rose to 650 million to 850 million euros from the 325 million euros previously reserved. The outlet said the revised range became public in early June and described the increase as more than a doubling of the earlier figure. The project itself is also substantial in scale. (at5.nl) AT5 described the Oostbrug as a 14-meter-high, 1,200-meter-long bridge intended to improve access to Amsterdam-Noord, while advisory documents cited by the city’s design commission say the first of two planned IJ crossings is targeted for completion sometime between 2032 and 2035. ### Why did the timing of disclosure become the issue? (at5.nl) AT5 reported on August 20 that documents obtained under the Dutch open-government law showed Van der Horst had been informed more than a month before the March 18, 2026 election that costs had risen sharply. The outlet said an external bureau had informed civil servants of the new estimate by the end of 2025, and that internal discussions considered when the figures should be shared. (at5.nl) Melanie van der Horst denied that the election drove her decision. AT5 quoted her as saying she had acted as she always had and would do so again, arguing the estimate was still preliminary and not reliable enough to present to the council at that stage. She also called accusations against her integrity an “attack on my integrity,” according to AT5’s September 2 report. (at5.nl) ### What did councillors say in the latest debate? Volt councillor Pim van Burk said the former alderman had not been legally required to share the new estimate, but that councillors would have wanted to know. AT5 quoted him as saying: “Had the wethouder de nieuwe kostenraming verplicht moeten delen? Het antwoord is nee,” followed by the view that she could have shared it and that the council would have liked to hear it. (at5.nl) VVD faction leader Daan Wijnants took a harder line in the earlier August 20 debate. AT5 reported that he called Van der Horst’s conduct problematic “op een aantal niveaus,” saying Amsterdam residents and councillors were left with an incomplete picture of the feasibility of the bridge project. JA21’s Stef Keij also asked whether the issue was a misjudgment or a deliberate attempt to shape perceptions, according to the same report. (at5.nl) ### Where do datacenters fit into the same council session? AT5’s live preview of the September 2 council day said the Stopera agenda also included a datacenter debate. The broadcaster said Anke Bakker of the Party for the Animals and Bouke van Hilten of D66 were due to argue over the desirability of large datacenters in the city during its pre-council program. Raadzaam, the Amsterdam council document portal, also shows datacenter-related scrutiny elsewhere in 2026. (at5.nl) A July 7 written-question filing by councillor Bakker referred to transparency around “energieslurpende datacenters,” indicating the issue was already active in council oversight before the September session. ### What comes next for the bridge file? AT5 reported on September 2 that the council wanted more information during the process when politically significant cost increases emerge, even as it accepted Van der Horst’s account of her earlier decision. (at5.nl) That leaves the Oostbrug project alive politically, but under tighter scrutiny from councillors over when new financial risks are disclosed. (raadzaam.amsterdam.nl) The next public step is continued council oversight through Amsterdam’s council system and local media coverage. AT5 said its “Stemming op de Stopera” program and council-session coverage were available live on September 2, and the bridge remains tied to a project timetable that advisory documents place in the 2032-2035 completion window. (at5.nl) (at5.nl)