2010 Good News : Durban, 2010 World Cup

Bring on the 2010 World Cup, Durban is ready

Shine2010 — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 12:33:00 GMT

Durban is more than ready to play host to some of the biggest names in world football, says City Manager Michael Sutcliffe.

13 000 temporary seats are being erected at the Moses Mabhida stadium in Durban to increase seating capacity to 70 000 for the 2010 World Cup.

Durban stadium currently has 57 000 permanent seats and will be handed over to FIFA at the end of January.

There are also major improvements around the stadium precinct, which include upgrades to the nearby Isaiah Ntshangase (Walter Gilbert) and Masabalala Yengwa (NMR) Avenue.

The new railway station built near the stadium is due for completion in March this year.

Durban stadium is even installing and testing a bungee swing this weekend.

eThekwini Mayor Obed Mlaba said the Local Organising Committee (LOC) had chosen Durban as the venue for the World Cup 100-day countdown celebrations.

Mlaba said there was a possibility that the 100-day countdown would coincide with the official opening of Moses Mabhida Stadium.

Adapted from: BuaNews

Durban on track for 2010

Shine2010 — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 07:45:00 GMT

By Stuart Alderson-Smith

With just 300 days to go until kick off of the 2010 FIFA World Cup all host cities are busily trying to get everything completed on time. Naturally the public is eagerly following the progress of each city’s undertakings.

With this in mind, the Kwazulu-Natal provincial government has launched their KZN 2010 provincial website to let the country know the progress of their preparations. This was further promoted through the inclusion of an insert in major newspapers on Thursday, giving updates on Durban’s progress.

Some of the issues discussed in the insert include:

Transport System

A number of new transport initiatives are being implemented. These include the People Mover Bus system, which operates around the inner city and beachfront areas in air-conditioned buses. This system will be expanded to serve a larger area within the inner city and known as the Inner City Distribution system. The first additional buses arrive in August with final delivery by December 2009.

Durban’s new international airport

Situated just north of the city, this new international airport will provide national and international access to the city. The airport is well on track to be completed and operational by May 2010.

Park and Ride / Park and Walk facilities

These will allow drivers to park their cars and access the stadium without traffic congestion and parking problems.

Pubic transport Information Call Centre

This initiative will assist commuters and tourists, providing information on travel options within the city.

Variable message signs

Signs have already been installed and transport information kiosks set up in major nodes across the city. The public transport lanes are proceeding well with the Western lane complete and the Albert Luthuli Freeway lane currently under construction. The call centre is also being upgraded to assist commuters and tourists by providing information on travel options within the city.

Road network CCTV monitoring, surveillance and signage

Security and traffic incidents within the city will be linked to the electronic information boards that relay information to road users.

Beachfront redevelopment

A R200 million upgrade to the Durban beachfront is currently underway. The main focus of the project includes 15m wide uninterrupted walkways with improved lighting and landscaping along 5km of coastline. The redevelopment also includes additional refreshment, restaurant, retail, ablution and lifeguard facilities. A range of green recreational spaces, including the rehabilitation of dunes, increased lawns, trees and shade, will offer visitors multi-functional usage of the beachfront promenade, while a pedestrian walkway will link the promenade to the Stadium.

Fan Park

Durban’s beachfront Fan Park will offer spectators mega screens with surround sound, refreshments and dips in the sea.

Durban stadium eight weeks ahead of schedule

Shine2010 — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 12:41:00 GMT

Tremendous development has taken place at Durban’s Moses Mabhida Stadium over the past three months, so much so that the project is well ahead of schedule, according to Julie-May Ellingson, Head of Durban's Strategic Projects Unit and 2010 Programme.

"We are eight weeks ahead of schedule and the stadium is already 65% complete," she says.

"A number of key areas have been completed in the past months: The slabs for levels three and four are complete, and so is just over 80% of the slab for level five. At the end of April, the first part of the slab for level six, the highest level, was poured and, since then we have completed 55% of this level."

Ellingson points out that all the structural elements of the bowl continue to progress steadily as well, with the completion of all piling and ground beams, the foundations for the retaining walls and the lift shafts up to level five.

The workers have also almost completed the underground storm water lines, while the parking garage structure continues to advance steadily.

She says that the unique design of the stadium incorporates many columns that serve both a structural and an aesthetic role.

“These columns went up fast, with the last raking pre-cast column having been erected in the first week of June. Additionally, all columns from levels one to four are in place and the columns from levels five and six are now more than two thirds of the way to completion.”

Residents of the city will also have noticed that the stadium's iconic arch is rapidly growing skywards as well. This is because the foundations for the arch’s south western, south eastern and northern legs - consisting of capping slabs and a slanted bearing structure - were completed in April, allowing for the precise placement of the segments to take place.

Ellingson indicates that more than 12 of the arch's 56 segments are now in place and the rungs that join the two southern legs were already assembled in June.

"Many more of the arch segments have arrived and the stadium's in-field is full of them! Absolute precision is required to put each segment in place correctly, so it has been a very lengthy process."

The stadium, which is due to host one the 2010 FIFA World Cup semi-finals, has so far seen over three million man-hours of work carried out, more than 139 000 tonnes of concrete poured, and almost 7 000 tonnes of steel reinforcement used.

Ellingson says that, to date, over 7 512 jobs have been created on the stadium project and that of the 2 522 construction workers currently employed on the site, some 114 are women, which is the highest number of women involved in any of the stadium construction projects in the country.