Expatica news

Builders down tools in Arnhem ‘battlefield’

16 August 2006

AMSTERDAM — Building contractor Jacobs Infra is refusing to continue work in the Malburgen neighbourhood of Arnhem because the ground is allegedly littered with explosives from World War II.

Jacobs Infra accuses the local authority of not doing enough to guarantee the safety of construction workers. Arnhem officials deny this and say a consultant examined the area and declared it is safe to dig there.

The company is taking its case to the Raad van Arbitrage (Arbitration Council), while the municipality is looking for another firm to take over the renovation of the district.

Malburgen is a post-war district built at the foot of the John Frost Bridge, which was at the centre of the Battle of Arnhem in 1944.

[Copyright Expatica News + ANP 2006]

Subject: Dutch news