The ball is rolling and gathering momentum and soon it will be time to blow the first whistle at Nelson Mandela Bay‘s new 2010 football stadium.

The stadium, next to North End Lake, is set to meet its Fifa completion deadline of the end of March – ample time after the initial deadline of December 14 was extended by three months earlier this year.

“There have been a few extensions of time due to the weather, and these were adjusted in terms of the contract. We are very positive that we will reach that date,” said project manager Dr Coert du Toit.

Work at the new Eastern Cape jewel is at an advanced stage. Seats are being installed, with the ones on the northern end of the stadium (behind where the goalposts will stand) already in place, having taken only a week to put in position.

Architect and tour guide Thomas Muerrle-Makhuluma said the installation of the roof should begin within the next month or two as not all the material had yet arrived from Kuwait, where it is being manufactured.

There are workers on site from different parts of the country and also from other parts of the world, including Bangladesh, China and Germany, contributing to the completion of the stadium.

Bangladeshi foreman Ree Ton, who has been working on the site since June last year, said he was overwhelmed by the hospitality foreigners had been receiving in the Bay, and he singled out the time away from his family as the only downside to being away from home.

“This is a very nice stadium and we are doing a nice job. The people are also very nice. Maybe the stadium can go for 100 years without any problems,” he said.

He said the weather was a negative factor in making quick progress with work on site. “Sometimes the wind is too much, and sometimes there‘s some rain. That is the only major problem area.

“I‘ve been here for a long time. Every night I miss my family and my family also misses me. I phone them every morning, but everyone here is accommodating and that helps in not feeling lonely.”

Du Toit dismissed speculation about the pitch at the stadium not being suitable for rugby: “The pitch is designed for a standard soccer pitch and a standard rugby pitch. The playing surface for rugby ... complies with the standards set out by the International Rugby Board.”

Workers are putting finishing touches to the interior of the different levels, and installing concrete slabs on the stadium‘s sixth and highest level.

Massive cranes – one of them inside the stadium – will assist with the installation of the roof.

Muerrle-Makhuluma said that fears that Prince Alfred‘s Park would be done away with should be put aside, as the park would be reconstructed after stadium construction was completed.

“It will be as beautiful and as green as before. The public will be able to enjoy the park and its scenery,” he said.