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11/1 Jurists want to stay in Oudemanhuispoort

8/2 Mayor’s portrait

8/2 Websites for social cohesion

7/2 Spreading tourism proceeds with difficulty

7/2 GroenLinks on districts: Be a man

6/2 Zuideramstel opens new office on Sabbath

5/2 The truth about integration

4/2 Wilders has little support on Amsterdam

3/2 Elite involved in neighbourhood

2/2 Johnnie Walker avoids taxes in Amsterdam

1/2 Rotterdam to tinker with district councils as well

31/1 Wooden rowing boats to disappear from Amstel

31/1 ZeeburgTV launched

27/1 Privacy activists to mess up loyalty card system

27/1 A few were still coughing, but that was an act

27/1 Chrisis in de Baarsjes

26/1 Youth have positive view of districts

24/1 Action groups call for Carmel and Jaffa boycott

24/1 PvdA members dismiss plan for districts

23/1 KLM takes on crisis with new uniform

23/1 District office not squatted

21/1 Merge districts

20/1 Closing squat bar Vrankrijk not necessary

20/1 Cleaners welcome new Schiphol director

18/1 Palestine at the Jewish Historical Museum

18/1 What is the right size for a district?

17/1 PvdA Oost against fewer districts

16/1 Committee: 7 districts by 2010

15/1 Soldiers may attend Afghanistan debate after all

15/1 Bait bike leads to arrest

14/1 Youth for Christ to republish vacancies

13/1 Paintings of the Zuidas

13/1 New Youth for Christ contoversy

11/1 Social cohesion initiative raises eyebrows

10/1 Fewer districts in 2010

10/1 Zuidas: People feel that we are losers

9/1 Fun on the ice - but not for all

9/1 Supermarket coupon fraud thwarted

9/1 I Amsterdam must remain exclusive

8/1 Use term Apartheid in every discussion

8/1 No city kiosk in Amsterdam yet

7/1 Snow

7/1 Fatima Elatik to run Zeeburg

7/1 Municipal managers to return to shop floor

4/1 Police: take photo of strange people

3/1 Gaza protest criticises politicians

1/1 Thousands to protest against attacks on Gaza

1/1 Mustapha Laboui leaves district council

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'Build Zuidas without corporations'

27 April 2008 - If corporations want more control over the development of the Zuidas business district, Amsterdam should consider building it without their help, argues council member Bouwe Olij at his party's website.

It is intended to build the Zuidas as a private-public partnership in which corporations invest 60% of the total costs, amounting to 2 billion euro. Last Friday, the Financieele Dagblad newspaper reported that the intended investors say that the municipality wants too much control over the project while shifting financial risks to the corporations.

Nonsense, says Olij. "All the profits that have been made at the flanks of the Zuidas so far will later be transferred to the bank account of the Zuidas Plc which will be founded. This involves hundreds of millions of euros simply falling into their laps. If the banks think this is not enough, I'm wondering whether Amsterdam and the national government shouldn't develop the project themselves in the usual manner".

Alderman Maarten van Poelgeest told Cobouw that he considers the complaints of the intended investors as part of the game. "Before the market closes, private parties try to arrange something". The companies that have been invited to participate are ABN Amro, Fortis Bank, ING Bank, Rabobank, BNG, Bank of Scotland, Schiphol and ABP.

Olij (in Dutch)

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