News
2010 more than just a game – Govt
21 August - The 2010 Fifa World Cup to be hosted in South Africa should be used as a vehicle to send new images to the world about the people of South Africa and the African continent alike, media delegates in Beijing have heard.
World Cup to boost SA tourism
21 August - South African tourism and leisure sectors are set to benefit from the country’s hosting of the 2010 Fifa World Cup™, Deputy Minister of Finance Jabulani Moleketi said on Thursday.
SA police promise safe World Cup
19 August - South African National Deputy Police Commissioner Andre Pruis says the 2009 Fifa Confederations Cup™ and the 2010 Fifa World Cup™ to be held in South Africa will be safe.
Media to scrutinise 2010 preparations
15 August - A contingent of international and local media representatives has been invited to put preparations for the 2010 Fifa World Cup™ under the microscope in Beijing, the Department of Sport and Recreation said in a statement on Friday.
2010 lessons from Olympic volunteers
15 August - Potential volunteers for the 2009 Fifa Confederations Cup™ and 2010 Fifa World Cup™ to be hosted in South Africa will have to be on top of their game to ensure that crucial areas of operations are well-manned during the events.
SA must unite to make 2010 a success - govt
13 August - With less than 666 days left before the biggest soccer event on the African continent kicks off, government has called on South Africans to come together and share the vision of making it a memorable success.
Fifa: Nothing can go wrong in 2010
12 August - Fifa boss Sepp Blatter has once again reiterated his confidence in South Africa’s hosting of the 2010 Fifa World Cup™ saying the event will change the face of the tournament.
Beijing comes alive with Olympic spirit
12 August - Giant outdoor screens brandishing the Olympic circles, sports memorabilia, Chinese flags, strict traffic flow protocol, heavy police presence, branded commodities, scores of tourists, giant official mascots, late night food markets, and game.
LOC gets ball rolling at Host Cities
06 August - The 2010 Fifa World Cup South Africa™ Organizing Committee has announced the appointment of eight Organising Committee Venue Managers in a move aimed at dispersing its operations to host city level.
2010 boss for Soccerex
05 August - Soccerex have announced that Danny Jordaan, CEO of the 2010 Fifa World Cup South Africa™ Organizing Committee will be participating at the 2008 Soccerex Conference programme.
Volunteer applications hit 20 000
04 August - More than 20 000 South Africans have applied to volunteer during the 2009 Fifa Confederations Cup™ tournament, the Local Organising Committee (LOC) Volunteer Programme said on Friday.
2010 security exercises in Bloemfontein
04 August - South African law enforcement agencies will hold joint security exercises in Bloemfontein in preparation for the 2010 Fifa World Cup™, South African Police Service (SAPS) said in a statement on Sunday.
19 May 2008
PE confident it will meet Fifa deadline
Michael Appel
Johannesburg – The Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium will be completed by the March 2009 deadline set by Fifa and the South African Football Association (Safa).
This comes after the municipality's readiness for the 2009 Confederation Cup was brought into question earlier this year.
This is according to Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality's Executive Director for the 2010 Fifa World Cup™ Errol Heynes, who was addressing fellow host city representatives, the French Trade Commission and members from the French Embassy, on Monday.
“The Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality is the only city to build a brand new stadium, but is also the only city to also host the 2009 Fifa Confederations Cup.
“Although the initial target set for completion of the stadium was set for December 2008, it has been extended to March 2009 and we are on track."
Outstanding development at the stadium includes road works around the stadium, the general finishing off of the west wing, the insulation of Information Technology (IT) items, landscaping and fencing, said Mr Heynes.
The municipality will host eight matches during the world cup and the 48 000-seater stadium is about one kilometre from the beach front and right on the banks of a lake.
This allows for enormous potential for growth and development, he said.
"We see the stadium as a catalyst for the building of a new economic node in the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality," he said, adding the world cup will significantly benefit Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) in terms of job creation, economic and skills development and legacy building.
In terms of creating a public transport system capable of dealing with the influx of thousands of visitors, Mr Heynes said the municipality will procure 450 buses as well as 2 000 mini-buses for the Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) system, which involves the creation of a dedicated bus lane within the city.
To avoid creating tension will existing taxi bosses, the municipality has come up with a unique idea of giving taxi organisations ownership in the BRT system in order to avoid people losing their livelihood and in the interests of harmonising existing business with infrastructure development.
Five road projects in and around Port Elizabeth have been completed, and a tender has been put out for an access road project, whilst the Public Transport Operations Plan Implementation Programme is firmly in place, he said.
Some of the challenges facing the municipality include the limited number of contractors within the municipality, Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs), and capacity constraints in the delivery of BRT developments, said Mr Heynes.
Also speaking at the conference and representing Polokwane was the city's 2010 Coordinator Nketu Matima, who said: "Beyond job creation, the local economic development strategy has created opportunities for local suppliers of materials and services."
There will also be a number of spin-offs for SMMEs in the area of new guest houses, roads, services, infrastructure and transport, said Mr Matima, adding are plans in place to build two 500-bed hotels right next to the Peter Mokaba Stadium.
FIFA requires Polokwane to have a 10 000 bed capacity, but at the moment the inner city can accommodate only 4 400.
Mr Matima said the Peter Mokaba Stadium will also be used as a concert and conference venue apart from being used as a sporting ground for soccer and rugby matches after the 2010 event.
There are also plans in place to establish a science centre and sports museum outside the stadium.
Polokwane will have pedestrian and public transport zones surrounding the stadium in order to limit Carbon Dioxide (CO2) emissions and to limit the build up of traffic congestion in and around the city.
Source: BuaNews