World Cup 2010 Blog

Johannesburg - Construction at one of Ekurhuleni’s 2010 FIFA World Cup practice stadiums is well on track and scheduled to be ready by the middle of 2009.

This is according to Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality’s 2010 General Manager Maropeng Raphela, who said the R38 million injection into the Makhulong Stadium would give it a major facelift.

While none of the world cup matches will be played in Ekurhuleni, there are four practice stadiums namely Sinaba, Vosloosrus, Makhulong, and Katlehong stadiums which will be used as practice venues.

The Makhulong Stadium is situated in the informal settlement of Thembisa.

With a planned capacity of about 15 000 seats, the stadium will comply with all FIFA and Premier Soccer League (PSL) requirements. These include flood lights, player and management facilities, security, amenities, VIP and V-VIP areas as well as accommodate a 200 square meter media facility.

On-site architect from ACG Architects Jan Harm du Plessis said phase one of the project, which involved the installation of the flood lights, was complete.

“We are in the process of completing phase two which involves the construction of the buildings and grand stands.”

Labour was sourced from the local Thembisa community for all construction work and there are currently 50 people employed at the stadium.

These numbers are set to increase as the project continues, said Mr du Plessis.

The residents of Ekurhuleni will be exposed to an array of economic opportunities during the Confederations Cup in 2009 and the world cup, said Ekurhuleni Municipality Project Implementation Specialist, Simphiwe Morajane.

Speaking to BuaNews, Mr Morajane highlighted that major upgrades were taking place within the municipality, such as OR Tambo International increasing its capacity, road infrastructure being improved, and the greening of the area underway.

“We are also still negotiating with IT (information technology) experts on the installation of Wi-Fi and bluetooth within the municipality.

“Instead of seeing a welcome sign when you enter the municipality, we would like you to receive an SMS welcoming you and listing a number of services available to you,” said Mr Morajane.

In terms of existing tourism gems in Ekurhuleni, the Kidetselana Cultural Village houses the nine African tribes of South Africa giving visitors an authentic fell for the different cultures of the country.

Mr Morajane said the cultural village was perfect for school tours and visiting tourists.

Another of Ekurhuleni’s practise stadiums, Sinaba Stadium in Daveyton, is funded provincially by Gauteng and Ekurhuleni and will also have a capacity of about 15 000 seats.

On-site engineer, William Mofokeng, told BuaNews that construction at this stadium commenced in January this year and is due for completion by the end of 2008.

“About 70 percent of employment is from the local community … there is about 280 students that we trained who will work on-site when they finish their training,” said Mr Mofokeng.