More than 40,000 people have participated in the online auction of old NATO office units.
The units being auctioned are temporary buildings located near the main building of NATO's old headquarters.
"Approximately 17% of the office space at the former NATO Headquarters is located in temporary buildings which were added over the years to support the enlargement of the Alliance," a NATO official said to The Brussels Times.
"Some of the temporary buildings are being dismantled and will be reused by the suppliers. The buildings that are not being reused are being dismantled and recycled rather than demolished," the official added.
"Half of the 73 office containers have been sold, with more than 30 bids per office module," said the marketing manager of the Moyersoen auction house, Jeroen Van Daele, reports Bruzz.
"It looks like the units will remain in the hands of Belgian companies," said Van Daele. “Half of the containers previously intended for NATO offices have already been sold. Containers that were not bid on, we are still negotiating with a few interested parties," added Van Daele.
The old NATO headquarters are situated across the road from the existing headquarters on Boulevard Léopold III in Brussels. The organisation moved out of the old building and into its existing headquarters in 2018, after the construction of the new headquarters was completed the year before.
Initially based in London, NATO's headquarters were moved to Paris in 1952 before being transferred to Brussels in 1967.
Established in 1949, NATO is an intergovernmental military alliance composed of 29 North American and European countries whose aim is to guarantee the freedom and security of its members through political and military means.
Evie McCullough
The Brussels Times
