Dutch construction company BAM is one of the candidates bidding to build the new headquarters of the European Central bank in Frankfurt, according to the Dutch financial newspaper het Financieele Dagblad. The paper reported that BAM Deutschland together with construction firm Zublin is part of a consortium that has passed to the second stage of the tender process. The bank would not disclosed the name of the other candidates.
Dutch construction company BAM is one of the candidates bidding to build the new headquarters of the European Central bank in Frankfurt, according to the Dutch financial newspaper het Financieele Dagblad. The paper reported that BAM Deutschland together with construction firm Zublin is part of a consortium that has passed to the second stage of the tender process. The bank would not disclosed the name of the other candidates.
The ECB, headed by Jean-Claude Trichet, has received this week the construction permit for its new head office, which is scheduled for completion in 2011. The scheme, which has been designed by the Austrian architectural team Coop Himmelblau, consists of twee 185 meter high glass towers, connected to each other through an enormous market hall dating back to 1928. The total investment for the project is estimated at EUR 850mln, of which EUR 500mln for construction costs.
The ECB has had plans to develop a new office since it was founded in 1998. The new scheme will house the bank's 1,350 employees, which are now spread across three properties. The bank expects the tender process to select the developer will take until the end of 2008.
