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Mpuma stadium gets go-ahead
06/02/2007 19:42 - (SA)
Guy Jepson
Nelspruit - Environmental officials have given the Mbombela municipality the green light to proceed with its planned R920m World Cup stadium project outside Nelspruit.
The decision comes barely a month after inspectors fined the municipality R37 000 for flouting environmental laws after contractors bulldozed a wetland near the stadium site.
Construction of the Mbombela Stadium at Mataffin was supposed to have started in December, but has been delayed by budgetary logjams as well as other sticking points, including environmental concerns.
The site of the planned 43 500-seater stadium and its surrounding precinct falls on land formerly owned by a community trust and includes an extensive wetland.
'Environmental plan approved'
Dr Garth Batchelor, head of environmental impact management at Mpumalanga's agriculture and land affairs department, confirmed the project's environmental management plan had now been approved.
"The plan has been approved and the record of decision has been issued.
From our side they can proceed," said Batchelor.
He said a consultant who had studied the area found the actual stadium site fell on "a degraded wetland" that was "not of much significance".
But, Batchelor said there were more-sensitive areas "higher up the vlei system" that would need to be monitored and protected.
He also confirmed that inspectors fined the municipality R37 000 in December after contractors cleared land to build a temporary school.
Chris Grib, chief executive of Lefika Consulting, which has been appointed by the council to design the stadium, said the municipality paid the fine "to keep the process going".
Concern about construction delays
Meanwhile, the Democratic Alliance in Mpumalanga has expressed concern at delays in building the stadium, saying that other than the turning of the first sod, very little major construction had started.
The Mbombela council blamed the lack of development on delays in securing the approval of the national treasury to transfer the allocated funds.
The provincial government recently expressed concern about "the general escalating trend of construction costs in the entire country, which is also affecting the Mbombela stadium project".
Unconfirmed reports indicate that the original cost estimates already have increased the projected bill by R97m, from R920m to R1.17bn, due to rising material prices, foreign exchange fluctuations, and delays in getting the project off the ground.
South African construction firm Basil Read and French firm Bouygues TP have been awarded the tender to build the stadium.
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