15.3 million euro in investments
The city of Leuven felt Uplace received illegal state support from Flanders to enable its mobility projects in the Vilvoorde – Machelen area, but the European Commission does not consider that to be the case.
“With this judgment, the European Commission agrees that the mobility project and the changes in public transportation, which were mentioned in the complaint, are actually beneficial to the entire Vilvoorde – Machelen area and that Uplace did not receive any state support”, Uplace CEO, Jan Van Lancker, said.
The Commission even mentions that Uplace pays more than it has to, with 15.3 million euro for all the mobility projects in the region. Those include new ramps on the Woluwelaan, the complete remodeling of that same street, the addition of a bridge and tunnel over and under the Woluwelaan, a bicycle tunnel and walk ways. In addition, Uplace will pay public transportation company De Lijn 500,000 euro every year for a specific stop at the shopping center.
