Dutch news in brief, 27 August 2004

Finding a dream home becoming more difficult

Buyers often have a very clear idea of what they want and the Dutch housing market isn’t living up to these expectations. The problem is getting worse, the association of house builders NVB said Friday. The NVB warned there was a “growing mismatch” between buyers and houses available for sale. It said many Dutch people would gladly buy a new home but for the fact the house of their dream had not been built, or was built in the wrong place. This was resulting in more and more retirees looking to buy homes abroad, the organisation said.

Massive investment planned to solve gridlock

Transport Minister Karla Peijs plans to guarantee that by 2020 some 95 percent of motorists will arrive at their destination in time. She says this will be achieved by a massive rise in infrastructure funding. Peijs intends to invest EUR 39 billion in new infrastructure and the maintenance of existing roads. Sources also said EUR 17 billion will be invested to increase the number of trains, Radio Netherlands reported on Friday. The private sector will be asked to contribute EUR 10 billion to the ambitious project. Dutch motorists face congestion on a daily basis, while Dutch rail NS is working hard to reduce rail delays.

Wettest August on record

As rain continued to fall by the bucket loads across the Netherlands on Friday, weather bureau KNMI confirmed this month has been the wettest August since records began. As the Maasland measuring station in Westland recorded 302mm of rain so far this month, the previous record holder, August 2002, was flooded off the winner’s podium. Two years ago, 295mm of rain was recorded at Eext in Drenthe. The KNMI said Friday it looked like August 2004 is also set to break the record for the wettest month ever in the Netherlands. That record is currently held by October 1932 when 321mm of rain was recorded in Zaandam.

Deportee died of drug overdose

The man who died last week in a Rotterdam deportation centre died from a drug overdose, it was revealed on Friday. The Nigerian man had swallowed drugs to pass through customs and an autopsy revealed that two of the packages had burst open inside him, the Dutch Forensics Institute said. Dutch authorities had been unaware that the man — who was an illegal immigrant — was smuggling drugs. He had been detained for three days at the Rotterdam Airport in preparation for his deportation when he suddenly died, RTL News reported.

Subject: Dutch news