The City of Cape Town’s preparations for the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ have reached an advanced stage, less than 400 days before kick-off.

Construction work on the Green Point Stadium is about 70% complete, and is on track for completion in December this year.

The major concrete work has been completed, and only finishes to the structure, such as external cladding, cabling, seating and lighting, need to be completed.

The focus of construction work at present is the state-of-the-art roof structure, which has been designed to meet strict environmental constraints. The roof slopes inwards and incorporates the pitch lighting, making both of these invisible from the outside. It is also designed to minimise noise and disturbance in the surrounding areas.

The inner tension ring and outer compression ring of the roof have been installed, and the installation of the steel roof trusses is halfway to completion.

The first panels of the glass roof have also been installed.

“Construction of the roof is progressing well and is scheduled for completion in September this year,” said City of Cape Town Director of Communication Pieter Cronje.

The R4,5 billion stadium project has created jobs for over 2 500 workers. During the construction process thus far, only 6.5 days have been lost due to industrial action, and two hours lost due to load-shedding.

The area surrounding the new stadium, the 85 hectare Green Point Common, is presently undergoing an extensive upgrade to incorporate a newly-redesigned golf course, sporting facilities for several different sporting codes, and public recreation areas. Work on the Common is expected to be completed by March 2010.

Other 2010 preparations and operational plans are also proceeding on track.

Major infrastructure projects – including upgrades to Cape Town International Airport; public transport (including a new Integrated Rapid Transit System); roads and electricity infrastructure – are also at an advanced stage.

Operational and security planning is underway, a disaster management plan and 2010 by-law are in place, and city beautification and decoration programmes are being implemented.
The official Fan Fest will be held at the Grand Parade, with public viewing areas – with high definition large-screen TV feeds - being prepared in Athlone, Bellville Velodrome and Swartklip sports complexes.

The Final Draw will be held at the Cape Town International Convention Centre on 4 December this year. At least 5 000 guests and an estimated TV audience of 700 million people will watch the final draw being made. The stadium will also have its ceremonial opening during that period, and will be officially handed over to the City of Cape Town by the contractors - a consortium of Murray & Roberts and WBHO - on 14 December.