01/05/2008 20:21

Johannesburg - South Africa's 2010 World Cup organisers are to decide next week whether construction delays will prevent them from using a new stadium for next year's Confederation Cup test event.

World soccer's governing body FIFA raised concerns last November over the pace of building the 1.2 billion rand ($597,000) Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth and put the venue on notice in January.

The World Cup Organising Committee will meet in Johannesburg on Monday and Tuesday to decide whether to cut it from the list of five venues for June's eight-team Confederation Cup tournament held 12 months before the World Cup.

"I have been extremely pleased with the progress made over the last weeks," Danny Jordaan, chief executive officer of the organising committee, told Reuters on Thursday.

"All the teams we have sent to inspect the venue have sent us positive reports. It will all depend on how the board sees it."

Board members will tour the 48,000-seater stadium -- one of 10 venues for the World Cup finals -- this weekend.

Work is scheduled to be completed by December 2008 and last week local officials said they were on track to meet the deadline.

"We foresee no problems unless an act of God happens," Errol Heyns, the city's World Cup projects director, told local media last week.

FIFA have already drawn up two separate calendars for the 2009 Confederation Cup, one with four venues and another with five to include Port Elizabeth.

Last month the city's municipality obtained a court order to force the construction company, Grinaker-LTA, to ensure the stadium was completed on time.

The company had refused to accept a revised works programme, which it argued was not included in the original contract but the judgment ordered builders to take all steps necessary to complete the revised plan.

The municipality also had to restructure key World Cup committees last year after councillors were accused of showing a lack of interest and not attending meetings.

Port Elizabeth is the only new stadium due to be used for the Confederation Cup with existing venues in Bloemfontein, Johannesburg, Pretoria and Rustenburg needing only minor work.

In recent weeks, World Cup organisers have also had to deal with builders striking for increased pay at the new stadium being constructed in Nelspruit.