There are absolutely no grounds for panic as Port Elizabeth‘s 2010 Soccer World Cup stadium will be completed, at the very latest, in January 2009, five months before the Confederations Cup tournament.

These assuring words came yesterday from Nelson Mandela Bay 2010 director Errol Heyns.

This follows a series of media reports last week that due to an impending sympathy strike scheduled for yesterday at the stadium, the city‘s chances of hosting the Confederations Cup had been thrown out the window.

Heyns said: “Our planning made provision for a 45 000-seater stadium within a period of 22 months, ending in December 2008, or January 2009. There is absolutely no reason for panic. As far as critical items are concerned, the stadium is on track. It‘s early days for panicking.”

The pitch is scheduled to be ready in October next year and thereafter the roof will follow.

“The seats are most critical as Fifa needs to sell them through ticketing.”

While there were no guarantees of any sort in the construction industry, weather permitting, and with minimal disruptive industrial action, the stadium should be completed well in time, Heyns said.

He conceded, however, that other non-critical issues such as paving, painting, some lighting and tiling could stretch the completion time to April.

“The Confederations Cup will only kick off on June 15 and end on July 15. Before that, Fifa requires about six weeks to set up its equipment,” he said.

The construction of the stadium is divided into five levels. Level one and two comprise seating arrangements, level three is an office complex, level four is suites and level five is conferencing and retail facilities.

“We are finishing off level two, but other areas are already at level three and four.”

He said the 2010 project was big and would have challenges.

“There is no way that a project of this magnitude would be without challenges. The question is how you tackle those challenges when they show up.”

Heyns also dispelled reports that the stadium would be downgraded because of a R212-million shortfall which the municipality could not raise.

The shortfall, he said, had indeed occurred because major contractors had tendered for about 30 per cent more than had been budgeted for. However, the Eastern Cape provincial government had covered the shortfall.

“The stadiums will be built to Fifa specifications. There will be no downgrading,” he said.

Depending on how much subcontractors who would work with lighting, lifts, electricity, paving and lighting quoted, more shortfalls could surface, but the municipality would make plans to raise those shortfalls.

“We will look at different financing models,” Heyns said, but he would not specify what they were.

Ideally, the municipality wanted to create a whole new economic node in North End, with the stadium assuming a catalyst role for that, he said.

The node, which would be known as the “leisure entertainment precinct”, would see the North End Lake getting a cycling track and walkway, coffee shops, jazz cafes and nightclubs.

The municipality would spend about R1-billion on transport infrastructure around the stadium and elsewhere in the Bay.

At present about 1 370 people are employed on site. More are expected to benefit when sub-contractors start installing lighting, lifts, electricity, paving and tiling.

However, he also warned against people raising their expectations too high. “People should work hard and be competent in order to benefit. Be organised, competent and willing.”

The municipality was also looking at different ways to manage the stadium.

“These days stadiums have shifted from having a soccer pitch only. They have to be sustainable and profitable. So we are looking at office space, soccer, rugby and other revenue-generating facilities.”