Karremans says postponed Dutch infrastructure projects will eventually resume

Dutch Infrastructure Minister Vincent Karremans says projects postponed on Friday will eventually restart, but gave no timetable. The delays include a planned widening of the lock at Kornwerderzand, intended to allow larger ships to pass. [1]

Speaking at the Calandbrug in Rotterdam, Karremans rejected the suggestion that postponement meant cancellation. “The need that existed for those projects has not gone away. At some point, they will be taken up again,” he said. [1]

Businesses had already prepared for the Kornwerderzand work and told NOS the delay showed the government could not be relied upon. Karremans responded that a government would be truly unreliable if it failed to maintain the road network and caused major disruption. [1]

The government is also reducing funding for water-quality and drought measures. Karremans said many of these were regional projects to which the government had mainly contributed funding, and that water authorities would now be responsible for them. [1]