ASML begins building new Eindhoven campus, and everything must make way

In a forest north of Eindhoven Airport, buildings dating from 1900 sit hidden among fields and roads. Philips once used them to test street lighting. Today, three sisters own the buildings and surrounding land they inherited from their father, while a small group of squatters uses the structures for shelter.

The area is now being cleared for ASML’s expansion. Eindhoven has been trying since last year to buy the family’s woodland so it can lease the land to the chipmaking-equipment manufacturer. The family argues that the project serves ASML’s interests alone. The city says the new campus serves a public interest because cooperation between ASML and suppliers based at the nearby Brainport Industries Campus is important to the region’s development.

When negotiations stalled, Eindhoven began expropriation proceedings in February. The procedure covered the family’s woodland and buildings, as well as the other 11 plots still held by private owners. Most owners sold their land under the pressure of possible expropriation. According to the land registry, the city paid a total of 13.6 million euros for more than 15 hectares.

The final transfer to ASML may still take years. The family and the owner of another plot, an entrepreneur from nearby Best, have appealed to the Council of State. The family’s spokesperson also told NRC that a court case will be heard next month over the confirmation of the expropriation procedure. The other owner, who holds an agricultural field, declined to comment by phone.

Meanwhile, the campus transformation has already begun. During the past six months, workers started digging up land between the motorway and Eindhoven Airport. New locations were found for martens and anthills, while screens kept amphibians away from the work site. Workers removed Japanese knotweed, felled trees and excavated contaminated soil after a local farmer refused to clean up a leaking manure sack dumped there.

To allow ASML to formally begin construction, Eindhoven councillors cut short their recess last week. In a meeting lasting less than four minutes, they unanimously approved partially lifting confidentiality on land-development documents. The material must become public so the lease deed can be prepared. The city says the deed transferring the acquired land to ASML will be signed later this week.