Gelderland also wants money to preserve the chip sector

NOS News•today, 6:46 PM

Gelderland also wants the government to make significant investments to maintain the chip sector in the region. Otherwise, jobs that are important to the Dutch chip industry will disappear, says The Economic Board Arnhem-Nijmegen, a collaboration of governments, entrepreneurs and education.

Last month, the outgoing cabinet announced that it would invest 2.5 billion euros in the Eindhoven region to improve the business climate for the microchip industry there. For example, the money goes to additional homes, education and roads.

Outgoing Minister Adriaansens (Economic Affairs) called the Eindhoven region, led by the Veldhoven chip machine manufacturer ASML, of great importance for employment and the earning capacity of the Netherlands.

Gelderland now calls on not to forget the area around Arnhem and Nijmegen, because there are also many important companies in the chip industry, such as Besi (Duiven) and Nexperia (Nijmegen). And NXP may have its head office in Eindhoven, but has a significant part of its chips produced in Nijmegen.

This makes Gelderland just as important for the chip industry chain in the Netherlands as Eindhoven, according to The Economic Board. “And we have the same challenges in terms of building houses, infrastructure and the talent we need,” director Jan van Dellen told BNR.

According to Van Dellen, companies in Gelderland are also looking abroad with a wary eye. “For a company like NXP, there are enormous investments to be made. Then you have a choice: are we going to do that in the Netherlands or not? That is why I am in favor of a good business climate.”

The billion-dollar boost that the Eindhoven region received from the cabinet was called ‘Project Beethoven’. Gelderland has given its plan the name of another composer: Chopin. According to the Economic Board, hundreds of millions are needed to improve the business climate.