{{unreferenced, date=December 2015
Twentestad was a proposal for the
merger
Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of companies, other business organizations, or their operating units are transferred to or consolidated with another company or business organization. As an aspect ...
of two cities and a town in the eastern part of the
Netherlands, in the province of
Overijssel
Overijssel (, ; nds, Oaveriessel ; german: Oberyssel) is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands located in the eastern part of the country. The province's name translates to "across the IJssel", from the perspective of the ...
.
Enschede
Enschede (; known as in the local Twents dialect) is a municipality and city in the eastern Netherlands in the province of Overijssel and in the Twente region. The eastern parts of the urban area reaches the border of the German city of Gronau ...
,
Hengelo and parts of
Borne would become an urban area in
Twente, with about 250,000 inhabitants.
The merger never occurred, because of limited funding from the government and because 90% of all inhabitants of Hengelo were against it. They feared more problems, like criminality and traffic problems. After the project had been cancelled in 2000, Enschede, Hengelo, Borne and the neighbouring cities of
Almelo and (later)
Oldenzaal decided to intensify their collaboration as ''
Netwerkstad Twente''.
Twente