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Multi-billionaire Jeff Bezos:
His new superyacht causes controversy
Photo: Michael Reynolds/ EPA/ DPA
Multi-billionaire Jeff Bezos' plans to have a historic bridge in Rotterdam dismantled for the passage of his new sailing yacht has triggered a storm of indignation on social media.
An appeal has already been launched on Facebook to come to the bridge with "rotten eggs" and throw them at the luxury yacht - in the event that the city administration should approve the short-term dismantling and reconstruction of the bridge.
"Rotterdam was rebuilt from the rubble by the people of Rotterdam, and we don't just take that apart for the phallic symbol of a megalomaniac billionaire," writes initiator Pablo Strörmann.
Under the title "Eieren gooien naar superjacht Jeff Bezos", Störmann calls on June 1 at 5 p.m. to come to the shore at the bridge "De Hef".
It is still unclear whether the historic bridge will be dismantled at all.
According to media reports, the city of Rotterdam has not yet received an application for approval.
"I find the excitement quite strange. No decision has been made, not even an application for a permit," said the mayor of Rotterdam, Ahmed Aboutaleb, according to the Algemeen Dagblad newspaper.
A spokeswoman had previously said on Wednesday that the city administration had responded positively to a request from the shipbuilder.
He had therefore asked whether the Koningshaven Bridge could be dismantled so that the almost 40-metre-high superyacht could go out to sea after it was built.
Bezos wants to bear the costs of dismantling and rebuilding the bridge
A spokesman for the mayor of Rotterdam told the AFP news agency on Wednesday that Bezos had promised to bear the costs of dismantling and rebuilding the bridge.
The announcement had caused severe criticism.
The city government will make its decision if an application for a permit is actually made, Mayor Aboutaleb said, according to the reports.
He is currently in Colombia for talks on counter-narcotics.
The city administration will then evaluate the "economic interest, in particular the maritime image of our region" and the effects on the bridge: "Is it possible without causing damage? And then you want to know whether the costs will actually be reimbursed by the buyer". , the mayor reportedly said.
Dutch shipyard builds 430 million euro sailing three-master "Y721" for Bezos
Bezos had commissioned a shipyard in Alblasserdam, Netherlands, to build the 430 million euro three-master.
Shipbuilder Oceanco specializes in building luxury yachts.
According to experts, the Bezos ship with the project name Y721 should be 127 meters long, making it the second largest sailing yacht in the world.
However, the gigantic sailing yacht does not fit under the Rotterdam Koningshaven Bridge.
The ship is to be towed to the North Sea in the summer.
Only the bridge is in the way.
According to reports, the movable middle section of the bridge will be removed in the summer - and restored after the ship has passed.
The bridge was built in 1878 and rebuilt in 1940 after German bombing during World War II.
After a major renovation in 2017, the city government promised never to dismantle the structure, known to Rotterdammers as De Hef.
That's why the news from the previous day caused criticism among many Dutch people.
la/dpa/afp