Huge cheers from the citizens’ initiative “No to the planned Amazon distribution center in Sankt Valentin” and from many other citizens of the city of almost 10,000 inhabitants. The SPÖ, which has the majority in the city council, announced before the vote on Tuesday that it would vote against the online giant’s settlement plans.
“We are calm and happy. “We were not discouraged,” says Susanne Webersdorfer of the citizens’ initiative in St. Valentin, pleased with the SPÖ’s announcement that it would not agree to the construction of the Amazon warehouse. Since the plans became known, the FPÖ and the Greens have rejected the project, which the citizens’ initiative has been fighting against for over a year.
According to SP mayor Kerstin Mayr-Suchan, the current contract does not meet certain requirements “in several areas”. So far, no concrete solution has been presented “how to solve the excessive traffic volume, especially in the area of the highway entrance towards Linz”.
But the contract is also said to have fallen “below the municipality’s expectations” in terms of the share of electric vehicles and the guarantees regarding delivery partners. “Similarly, some of Amazon’s withdrawal rights and exit options would not have convinced the community,” the mayor continued. But according to the city manager, the contract also fell short of the municipality’s expectations regarding the share of electric vehicles and the guarantees regarding delivery partners. “Additionally, Amazon’s extensive withdrawal rights and exit options do not exactly promote confidence in the stability of the contract,” Mayr-Suchan said.
Reservations predominate
Red parliamentary group leader Rafael Mugrauer made it clear: “The outcome of the negotiations that is now available does not correspond to what we envision for our city in the areas mentioned. Although the creation of new jobs is always desirable, after extensive research and negotiations, the concerns outweighed the concerns about this project and our group has therefore jointly decided not to approve the contract.”
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
