Rotterdam to Own Municipal Bordello

ROTTERDAM, Netherlands — The city council of this Dutch port could soon own a brothel with up to 100 prostitutes, under a plan enabling it to set prices and tighten health checks.

Council spokesman Dolf van der Winkel said Thursday that the city will also control hours of operation but that day-to-day running of the brothel will be left to the prostitutes’ managers. The main purpose of the plan is to take the prostitutes off the streets and maintain public order and health, he added.

The council has already bought an unused factory near the center of the city to house the brothel and will soon begin discussions with local companies and residents’ associations.