Building the future

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The new Visitors Centre is the most eye-catching project among the overall plans. By now, preparations are well underway. The real heavy hitters of construction are due to arrive soon, and they will get cracking as they begin working on the parking lot and its immediate vicinity. The Visitor’s Centre is scheduled to open by September 2019.

Our new entrance zone, including two pedestrian walkway bridges, should be finished and ready to receive the first guests by the start of the main season in March. Right now, the area behind the Wisboom pumping station is a giant building excavation. The piles used to support the foundations of planned constructions are in the ground. It’s just a matter of time now before ‘we’ start to work our way up. Right there, in the Overwaard area, an auxiliary pumping station will be flanking a reception building and an education/nature cottage. Both of these facility buildings were designed by Bikker Architects from nearby Groot-Ammers.

Status

The construction activities mark the conclusion of a trajectory carefully implemented in 1997, at the moment when the Kinderdijk windmill area was officially listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site. Even then, it was clear to see that the current entrance and the limited facilities were a poor match for such an internationally acclaimed status. Well, all that is about to change!

All four main contractors responsible for the job are local entrepreneurs: P. van Leeuwen Contractors from Meerkerk, Papendrecht-based De Koning Bros., Mourik from Groot-Ammers, and Mecron Montage from Gorinchem, respectively. Overall investments amount to 9 million euros. Over half of the funding was raised through subsidies and loans. A further two million is provided by our sponsors.