Eindhoven City Council gives final approval to ASML’s expansion plans. The chip machine manufacturer will have access to a 50-hectare site.
ASML’s new buildings will be located next to Eindhoven’s airport, reports NOS. The expansion plans include 50 hectares and expropriate large tracts of land, necessitating the approval of the city council. According to the agreement, the municipality will approach the affected landowners for acquisition, writes Eindhovens Dagblad.
With the approval, the government plan “Operation Beethoven” is becoming more concrete. For the Netherlands, this means that ASML will stay in the country and create 20,000 additional jobs.
Concerns not addressed
By the way, the final approval was expected, as a positive letter of intent with the Municipality of Eindhoven was already ready in April. Still, the timing is somewhat surprising. Just last week, several concerned members made themselves heard in the Eindhoven City Council. The main issue is that it was not yet clear what the impact of the expansion would be on the livability of the region.
SP council member Jannie Visscher felt that the decision was being made in the wrong order: “We should first say ‘yes’ and only then look at the consequences. While no hard agreements have been made with ASML.” The municipality promised to have an overview ready by the end of 2024 of which infrastructure is becoming too small and needs expansion. So as a result, these concerns are not yet addressed.
Read also: ASML expansion agreement will be based on trust and that worries Eindhoven
Expansion not final
The approval is a necessary step in the expansion process, but not the last one. The final word now lies with ASML. The chip machine maker has not yet made a final decision on the expansion. The company says it will provide more clarity by the end of this year.
Construction would then start in 2026 at the earliest, but presumably, it will be postponed until 2027. The first workers should start at the new location in 2030.