Published by the government of Zimbabwe
Augustine Hwata
14 September 2007
Harare — A FIFA delegation is set to arrive in Zimbabwe on September 29 to review progress on the renovations being done at the National Sports Stadium and the laying of the artificial turf surface at Rufaro.
The two facilities are undergoing a facelift as Zimbabwe prepares to host preparatory matches for teams which would have qualified for the World Cup finals in South Africa in 2010. The Fifa delegation is coming amid revelations that renovations at the National Sports Stadium are well ahead of schedule. General manager of the Chinese contractors working at the site Zhang Xen Bin yesterday pointed out that they were three months ahead of schedule and could be completing their task in August next year ahead of the November 2008 deadline.
"Most of the work here is still under control and there is nothing to worry about on the schedule yet. "The ground breaking ceremony for the renovations was done on October 13, 2006 but the actual work started on March 18, 2007 and it means we have been working here for six months now. "Work is going on well and so far we have finished painting all the rails in the stadium and the demolition of all tiles and floors have been finished. "I can say 70 percent of all the civil engineering work has been done and we are now water-proofing all the roofs," said Bin during a tour of the stadium yesterday.
Bin said the first batch of equipment has arrived while the second batch is expected any time soon. "The next job is to install the equipment and we are waiting for it to arrive from China," Bin added. Another Chinese technical expert Gu Xiu Xiang said the Gansu contractors have managed to stay ahead of their schedule despite meeting some challenges. "Sometimes the electricity is not there and our work stops.
"At one time we had problems getting an adequate supply of cement but the situation has now improved," said Xiang. Acting Zifa chief executive Henrietta Rushwaya presented to officials from the Ministry of Local Government, Public Works and Urban Development, who are the owners of the stadium, a checklist of areas Fifa have pointed out need to be looked into at Rufaro.
Zifa believe the same areas should also be looked into at the National Sports Stadium.
"I think so far everything is good and we have been impressed by the progress done so far. "On September 29, Fifa are coming here and I believe they will be pleased to witness the ground covered so far as Zimbabwe prepares for the 2010 World Cup. "The Government has unveiled US$10 million to help in the renovations of the stadium and in turn I think it is best if we also give an input on what Fifa expect.
"Fifa want a numbering of the sitting areas so that a new ticketing system of selling the tickets against the number of a particular seat on a bay is done.
"There is a need for anti-doping control rooms, dressing rooms for match officials and players, a public address system and general security facilities around the stadium," she said.
National Sports Stadium resident engineer Tendai Chiwanza said the doping rooms, the dressing rooms and Press boxes were there at the stadium but were not being utilised. Chiwanza pointed out that the stadium was unlikely to have single bucket seats because the cost of fixing them were too high. "Putting the single bucket seats required much more money than the costs of renovating the whole stadium and we have decided to focus on renovations for now. "More so the fixing of the seats required the demolition of part of the sitting slabs to make way for more leg room and movement of people and that basically means reducing the sitting capacity by half," he said. Chiwanza also ruled out the installation of an artificial turf at the National Sports Stadium main arena.
"This is a multipurpose facility and putting artificial turf is not advisable. "The main ground is used for athletics, police and army drills during national events, discus, shot putt and javelin throws. "With events like javelin throws, the spear damages the turf and the surface will wear at a faster rate that the normal use," he said.
Taurai Katuka, a director of construction in the Ministry of Local Government, said a new giant screen and score board have already been ordered from China.
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