Brussels (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Brussels’ €37M Zenne River project in Maximilian Park, set for 2025–2026, was halted due to rising costs. Minister Maron blames inflation; MP Vanden Borre blames poor budget management.
As VRT News reported, the plan to open up the Zenne River in Brussels has been declared too expensive to continue. Brussels Environment Minister Alain Maron says the costs went up because of inflation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine. But not everyone agrees with that explanation.
Mathias Vanden Borre, an N-VA MP from Brussels, claimed the government is hiding behind the same old excuses to hide their mistakes. He argued the main issue stems from the “bad planning and management.” He added that if the city had respected its budget, the project could go ahead.
What caused Brussels to halt its €37M Zenne river project?
Authorities said that the termination of the Zenne River project symbolises not only a lost opportunity to enhance the city, but also broader issues with the administration of Brussels, especially when forceful action on climate and new infrastructure are desperately needed.
Brussels MP Mathias Vanden Borre is criticising the government’s handling of the Zenne River project and its finances. He says the region has had financial problems for years, and things have gotten worse. Vanden Borre points out that the region will have a €1.5 billion deficit in 2025.
He believes the government shouldn’t cancel a €37 million project because of inflation. He believes the real problem is poor planning in the budget and that the real issues are nothing more than global problems like COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine. He believes the government is using these things to cover up bad planning and that they used the money they had available to them poorly.
“But for a caretaker government that has to work with provisional twelfths, that’s impossible,”
Maron added.
Brussels Environment Minister Alain Maron counters criticism by stating the financial situation isn’t as constrained as some suggest, even with a caretaker government in place. He points out that the Region can utilise “provisional twelfths,” a budgeting method allowing them to spend one-twelfth of the previous year’s budget each month.
Maron argues this system offers some room to manoeuvre. He suggests the project isn’t necessarily permanently cancelled, and further funding could still be secured soon. He believes that with political will and strategic reallocation, they can still free up funds for important projects, such as the Zenne river opening.
Brussels planned to bring back 650 meters of the Zenne River in Maximilian Park. They mentioned that this project was seen as a way to connect the city with nature and build climate-friendly structures.
The plan, approved a year ago, aimed to start work in 2025 and finish in 2026, costing around €37 million. City leaders believed this would help with heat and flood risks. It fits with European ideas about sustainable cities, aiming to boost nature and improve life in a busy part of Brussels.
