The 15 hecatares of land are located right next to the Scheepvaartmuseum, in the east part of the centre of Amsterdam, which has become a maritime museum in 1972. From 1656 the monumental, large building was storage space for the Dutch Navy.

The news comes from the Amsterdam newspaper 'Het Parool' (http://www.parool.nl).

The land next to the museum has always remained property of the Ministry of Defense, but now it has announced it is ready to sell the property to Amsterdam.

The move is possibly caused by the large budget cuts the Dutch government is currently imposing on the Defense Ministry.

The City of Amsterdam has repeatedly said it would like to have the area, in order to create housing, offices and park area.
It remains to be seen whether Amsterdam has enough money to afford the Navy area; the city too has to economize.

The Scheepvaartmuseum (Maritime Museum) is still undergoing major renovation, but is set to be re-opened on October 2 this year, by HRH Queen Beatrix.