Photo (from left to right, 1st row): architect Jeroen van Schooten, Minister Vogelaar and Minister Bos at the Platanenhof.
UTRECHT, 21 January - The large-scale renovation of the Ministry of Finance building located at Korte Voorhout in The Hague is the first government-linked PPP project in the Netherlands. On 21 January 2008, Ministers Bos and Vogelaar visited the construction site.
Safire – a cooperative venture between Strukton, BURGERS ERGON, GTI, ISS Facility Services, an ABN AMRO investment fund and the Dutch Infrastructure Fund – is responsible for the design, renovation, financing and refitting of the head office of the Ministry of Finance, including the management and maintenance of the building for a period of 25 years thereafter.
The project is on schedule. Expectations are that by the end of this year employees from the Ministry of Finance will take up office in their renovated premises, offering room for 1,750 workstations. Within the scope of this project, the Ministry of Finance and the Government Buildings Department (RGD) are the contracting parties. Now that the results are becoming more visible, Ministers Bos (Finance) and Vogelaar (Housing, Districts and Integration) visited the site. They were shown around by Safire’s project directors, RGD and the Ministry of Finance, and the firm of architects (Meyer and Van Schooten). Their visit included a tour of the ministers’ wing (including the future office of the Minister of Finance), the atrium and the 4th floor, where the office layout is close to completion.
A flexible and sustainable solution
PPP tendering generated cost savings of around 15% in comparison with traditional tendering. Safire guarantees a smart, sustainable solution. The technical systems (air-conditioning and heating) will be renewed and the building will be modernised. The new building will be supported by an efficient logistics concept, which will generate significant cost savings over time. Sustainability also played an important role in the design. The building now complies with the National Package Plus Standard. Energy consumption will be reduced through the use of a hot-cold storage system, heat pumps, double-skin facade and climate-control ceilings. What’s more, the new building will only make use of sustainable energy. The building is highly efficient thanks to its raised floors and the placement of technical systems in the double-skin facade. Work commenced on the structural renovation at the beginning of 2007.