Johannesburg's 2010 Soccer World Cup plans are "on track, on time and within budget", says executive mayor Amos Masondo.
Addressing a gathering of media, soccer legends, sports and government officials, Masondo said on Wednesday that the city's 2010 plans and the refurbishment of the FNB Stadium, which is hosting the opening and closing ceremonies, would be completed on time and within their approved budgets.
His comments followed an announcement this week by the 2010 organising committee that it would be visiting host cities to find out why plans were over budget.
Construction and renovation of World Cup stadiums are expected to cost more than the R8,4billion originally budgeted by government.
"We are ready, we are willing and we are able to host the showpiece events of the world's greatest sporting spectacle," said Masondo.
"It is safe to say that a lot of planning and a lot of groundwork to ensure a successful staging of the 2010 Fifa World Cup is in place."
He conceded there was still a lot to be done in the months ahead.
The FNB Stadium in southern Johannesburg, which is to have a distinctive calabash design, is one of the stadiums expected to come in within budget after Grinaker-LTA and its consortium, awarded the contract for the revamp, reviewed the costs and the design.
The R1,5billion contract includes partial demolition of the stadium to upgrade facilities and the increasing of the stadium's capacity from a 70,000-seat open stadium to a 94,000-seat covered stadium.
Work on the stadium is to begin in two weeks.
Schalk Ackerman, director of Grinaker-LTA, part of a consortium chosen as the preferred bidder for the stadium, said they were committed to finishing it by March 2009, despite tight deadlines.
"We are very excited to have been awarded the main event stadium (contract), very few contractors in the world get an opportunity to build a stadium that is to be a focal point of the 2010 Soccer World Cup."
He said workers would be sourced from the Nasrec area and trained by the consortium.
Ackerman and Masondo conceded that the contract with the consortium allowed for price escalation due to unforeseen circumstances. "The R1,5billion quoted is subject to contract negotiations and identification of possible additional resources," said Masondo.
Speaking after the sod-turning ceremony, local organising committee CEO Danny Jordaan commended the Johannesburg City Council for accelerating the tender process.
He said the committee was investigating the costs of some of the stadiums, but that some escalation was expected.
Grinaker is a subsidiary of the JSE-listed the Aveng Group. Other consortium members are Interbeton, part of the Royal BAM Group of Holland, and German specialist stadium construction company HBM Stadien-und Sportstattenbau.
Business Day
Publisher: I-Net Bridge
Source: I-Net Bridge
