The construction work is expected to take up to 18 months, although the Legacy Company has structured its phasing so that sections of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park will be opened to the public from summer 2013.

The contract includes removal of several temporary venues, such as a warm-up track, a basketball arena, water polo pool and spectator stands and the Athletes’ Training Centre at Eton Manor (temporary venue). BAM Nuttall will also connect the surrounding communities to the heart of the Park with new footways and cycle paths. This will require the reconfiguration of 30 Games-time bridges and underpasses to improve public access.

Several facilities will be converted for alternative use, for example the Press and Broadcast Centre will be prepared for incoming tenants after removing the catering village and gantry. Photovoltaic panels and cladding will be added to the car park. BAM Nuttall will create the Velopark including the addition of a 1.6 km outdoor cycle circuit and a 6.5 km mountain bike trail. The activities also include the creation of Eton Manor sports Complex for Hockey and Tennis and reinstating twelve football pitches at East Marsh. The contract also includes doubling the amount of parkland to 102 hectares, including the planting of a further 2,000 trees, ten hectares of meadow, new lawns and two large allotment sites.

With these two prestigious contracts BAM Nuttall will maintain its long association with the Olympic Park site, which currently spans some four years. The company has been involved in the successful delivery of numerous projects at the Olympic Park including the original site preparation, the construction of bridges and a great deal of landscaping work.

Source BAM

This was the topic discussed today by international cooperation minister Ben Knapen during talks with Thijs van Praag, General Director of PUM Netherlands Senior Experts, an organisation that matches the knowledge requirement of businesses in developing countries to Dutch entrepreneurs and specialists who share their knowledge and experience free of charge.

‘Businesses in developing countries have a growing requirement for knowledge, particularly in areas where the Netherlands excels, such as water and food. We really have a lot to offer – not only to companies but also to knowledge institutes and civil society,’ said Mr Knapen.

Every year, PUM seconds some 2,100 professionals to developing countries for unpaid stints of several weeks, mainly with small and medium-sized businesses. In this way, they contribute to businesses’ self-reliance and promote local economic development.

source: government.nl

The assignment of Grontmij includes the structural design and the coordination of sub suppliers’ engineering work related to the structure of the shopping mall.

The ‘Mall of Scandinavia’ is one of the largest building projects in Sweden. After completion it will be the biggest shopping centre in Scandinavia with approximately 100,000 square metres of retail space. The mall will include a multiplex cinema and 250 shops and restaurants. The Mall of Scandinavia is part of a larger complex which includes a hotel, office spaces and dwellings. It will be located centrally in the Stockholm region. The opening is scheduled for autumn 2015.

Claes Ullén, Project Manager Peab for the Mall of Scandinavia. ‘We received a very positive response from Grontmij. They demonstrated clear commitment, technical competence and creativity in the contractual framework.‘

Leif Bertilsson, CEO of Grontmij Sweden: ‘It’s an honour to be involved in this landmark project for Sweden and Stockholm in particular. It will be one of the most exciting building projects in Sweden for the next years. Together with our Danish Grontmij colleagues we’ll be glad to contribute. This is a good example of our international capability delivered locally.’

De Bruijn’s research proposal, Communication and conflict in Africa’s mobile margins, combines theories and methods from anthropology, history, communication studies, psychology and political sciences to gain a better understanding of how social media, (new) ICT (including mobile phones) and the social fabric under duress interact. These dynamics were exemplified by recent developments in countries such as Egypt and Libya. Mobile communication, Twitter and Facebook acted as catalysts in the process that eventually led to the fall of several authoritarian regimes.

De Bruijn: ‘Our research will focus on Chad, Cameroon and the Central African Republic. Here, these movements are much less voluminous as smartphones and mobile internet are not yet as widespread as in Egypt. Nonetheless, here as well, these new technologies are making people more aware of the society they live in and the regime they are governed by. The relationship with their fellow countrymen who have migrated to the North intensifies. But also within the country, people are able to inform each other about societal changes, tensions and conflicts much more easily and quickly.’

‘Especially in societies plagued by years of poverty, war or oppression, the new and relatively free flow of information between often displaced people, is a revolutionary change’, says De Bruijn. ‘It is our goal to find out what the effects of this are. Not only on the relationship between society and politics, but also on society as a whole.’

The research programme also has a strong historic component. ‘Similar to mobile internet, the introduction of radio, for instance, brought about important changes in societies under duress. We will look at these changes and compare them with each other. This enables us to look beyond the current hype of social media and assess the lasting changes that are going on’, De Bruijn explains.

Conflict policy
‘This study aims to enhance our understanding of conflict dynamics and further the debate on the role of social media and ICT in conflict and post-conflict policies’, De Bruijn says. ‘Working together with policymakers and communication companies is an important element throughout the research. The collaboration focuses on questions like how improved means of communication and information can be used to prevent conflicts. Or how mobile communication can help refugees to be reunited with their family.’

Starting in September 2012, the research programme will last for five years. The research team will consist of PhD students, postdocs and senior researchers from both Europe and Africa.

In august 2011 Mirjam de Bruijn was interviewed for WOTRO’s website Research for Global Development. You can watch the interview below.

Mirjam de Bruijn is one of 31 researchers that have been awarded a Vici grant by NWO. An overview of all awarded research programmes is given here (Dutch).

Prices for food, soft drinks and transport contributed to inflation on Bonaire. Food prices were 7.8 percent up in 2011 from 2010, largely due to meat prices. Transport was more expensive as a result of higher airline ticket prices. Petrol prices also had an upward effect on inflation. Petrol prices rose rapidly in the first six months of 2011. Clothes prices increased by 11 percent last year.

Highest inflation rate recorded on St Eustatius
The most substantial price increase (9.9 percent) was recorded on St Eustatius, mainly as a result of higher transport prices early last year. Airline ticket and motor fuel prices rose dramatically. Higher energy prices and higher prices charged in the hotels and restaurants sector also contributed to inflation. Electricity prices were higher in the months of May, June and July due to the delayed effect of higher fuel prices on energy prices. Prices charged in the sector hotels and restaurants were nearly one quarter up from one year previously. In the first quarter of 2011, many businesses in the sector raised their prices in reaction to the introduction of the new tax system in 2011.

Food and transport prices push up inflation on Saba
Saba recorded an inflation rate of 6.4 percent in 2011. Transport prices contributed most to inflation. Expensive airline tickets were the main cause, just as on the other islands. Motor fuel prices also soared on Saba. Prices of food products and soft drinks were 9 percent up from one year previously in 2011. Meat, bread and cereal products played an important part in this respect. Higher prices charged in the sector hotels and restaurants were the third important factor. They were nearly 21 percent higher in 2011 than in the preceding year. The price increase in the sector hotels and restaurants mainly occurred in the first quarter, just as on St Eustatius.

The mission will take place in light of increased cooperation in various sectors between the Netherlands and Israel. The Netherlands is one of Israel’s 5 most important trade partners. For businesses big or small, especially those in the top sectors energy, water and food and life sciences, Israel provides excellent opportunities.

In 2011, the Netherlands exported around $1.3 billion worth of goods to Israel, mainly computers, electrical appliances, cars and trucks. The Netherlands imported around €2.1 billion worth from Israel, chiefly medicine, computers, fruit and vegetables. The Netherlands is Israel’s 2nd largest export destination in Europe.

source: government.nl

René van der Bruggen, Imtech CEO: ‘Imtech (Peek) has a large installed base of high-tech traffic solutions such as traffic controllers and traffic lights, which are being used as part of an extensive upgrade involving the deployment of the latest technology and innovative traffic management systems. From this installed base we have succeeded in becoming the technology upgrade partner to the city of Copenhagen. In formal terms, this means the first Imtech order in Denmark, which is a breakthrough. An Imtech office is being opened at the same time to help us build on this start. This will further strengthen our position in the European traffic market.’

New generation of technology for 365 road junctions
The order comprises the upgrade, improvement and maintenance of all 365 road junctions in the city, including a traffic management system based on ITS technology (Intelligent Transport Systems). ITS is a collective international term for the application of information and communications technology in traffic infrastructure and vehicles for making traffic safer, more efficient, more reliable and considerably more environmentally friendly. It involves the use of the latest information technology for simulation, real-time control and communications. The overall package of technological improvements will greatly contribute towards Copenhagen’s ability to meet its CSR objectives. An order has been placed for an initial phase of 10 million euro, which will be considerably expanded in due course.

First CO2 neutral city in the world
Copenhagen is seeking to reduce its CO2 emissions by 20% by the year 2015, and to be completely CO2 neutral by 2025. More than 50 sustainability initiatives have been launched against this background, for public transport, the transport industry, and the complete logistic ‘setting’. In 2011, 36% of the inhabitants of the Danish capital regularly travelled by bicycle; the target is for this figure to have risen to 50% by 2025. The Imtech technology is designed to give priority to cyclists and public transport, with the help of up-to-date travel information for example, and the creation of ‘green waves’. At present, traffic is responsible for 21% of the city’s overall CO2 emissions, but it is intended that this be reduced to 10% by 2015, thanks in part to Imtech solutions. To that end, new high-tech traffic controllers will be linked to a real-time remote monitoring system that will enable the flow of buses, bicycles, cars and freight vehicles to proceed in a sustainable and safe manner. The aim is to achieve optimal traffic flow with as few CO2 emissions as possible. This technology is partly the result of previous successful European pilot and research projects – CVIS, SAFESPOT and FREILOT – to which Imtech contributed significantly.

Active in the traffic market throughout Europe
Imtech is a strong player in the traffic market in the UK, the Netherlands, Belgium, the Nordic region (Sweden, Norway, Finland), Central and Eastern Europe, and is involved with projects in other European countries. It also exports mobility solutions outside Europe. The company’s objective is to further strengthen its position both in and outside the continent. Imtech is strongly placed in the urban and interurban markets, the traffic management and safety market, and in high-tech traffic centres. Besides this, Imtech is active worldwide in the market of parking technology.

TomTom HD Traffic creates a picture of traffic conditions as they evolve. HD Traffic contains information from multiple data sources, including connected navigation devices, mobile phones, road sensors and real time incident data; TomTom combines this anonymous information to produce real time traffic products using proprietary and tested methods.

Updates are provided every minute ensuring the AA’s customers are fully aware of the current road conditions before they start their travel. TomTom HD Traffic provides comprehensive coverage across the UK.

“With TomTom HD Traffic, the AA is safe in the knowledge that its users can accurately plan their journeys and be fully aware of the most up-to-date conditions on their routes,” said Charles Cautley, Managing Director TomTom Automotive and Licensing. “We believe that by partnering with the AA, TomTom is making it possible to more efficiently use the road network and reduce traffic congestion in the UK.”

“With winter upon us, we are focused on helping drivers prepare for their journeys by using the most up-to-date traffic information available to ensure they are not caught by surprise with traffic incidents or significant congestion,” said Steve Wing of the AA. “We trust that by equipping drivers with TomTom HD Traffic, they will have both a more positive navigation experience and a faster and safer journey.”

“The opportunity to influence the U.S. highway system in a positive way is one that TomTom takes very seriously,” says Charles Cautley, Managing Director TomTom Automotive and Licensing. “We believe that by using TomTom historical traffic data, Delcan and the SHRP2 program will help push traffic modeling in the U.S. to a higher level of quality.”

“The granularity of the TomTom historical traffic data enables detailed analysis of driving behavior since it can focus on a particular route at a specific time of day,” says Richard Mudge, Vice President at Delcan. “By partnering with TomTom, we’ve saved not only time and resources but also increased accuracy at reduced costs compared to using traditional survey methods.”

TomTom’s historical traffic database includes more than 5 trillion anonymous data points, revealing the speeds driven on any stretch of road and over any period of time and day.

The 2 ministers reaffirmed the good relations between the 2 countries and the continuing involvement in each other’s forces, the operation in Afghanistan and the counterpiracy mission. During his stay, Mr Hillen visited military locations in the United States where Dutch and American personnel work together.

Mr Hillen said that he was pleased that NATO and Europe continue to be the main security partners for the US. Mr Panetta said the Netherlands was one of the most important allies within Europe, but repeated his call for the European military contribution to be strengthened. Mr Hillen said it was “a mature invitation to a mature continent”. He indicated that he saw a role for the Netherlands in bringing partners together. He also thinks that European countries should work together better in order to spend the total defence budget, which still amounts to 200 billion euros, more efficiently. This he considers to be even more important in these times of shrinking defence budgets as a result of the financial crisis. With this remark, Mr Hillen was anticipating the NATO summit in Chicago planned for May, where smart defence will be high on the agenda.