Stadium 'within reach'

The cost of Cape Town's 2010 Soccer World Cup stadium has been slashed by over a billion rand to bring it "within reach", the city's mayor Helen Zille said on Tuesday.

The reduction from the original R3.7 billion quote to R2.68 billion still left a gap of R180 million, she told a media briefing.

The city was having "frank" discussions with provinical and national government about this amount and she hoped Cape Town would not have to forfeit the stadium over this amount.

"We've got to find other sources, but I don't think it will be insurmountable," she said.

"I'm optimistic that we'll take that final little leap to the other bank of the river."

Had the cost not been brought down, Cape Town would have had to kiss the stadium goodbye.

National government has committed R1.93 billion to the project, the provincial government R112 million, and the city R400 million - an amount Zille says ratepayers will not be asked to top up.

She said the cost reduction was achieved, in two weeks of negotiations between city representatives and the preferred bidder, through what she called "value engineering", making minor strucural adjustments, and making the 68,000 seater stadium smaller by about four metres on the radius and two metres lower.

This had been done without compromising Fifa requirements, the conditions of the environmental authorisation from the province, or the functionality and sustainability of the complex.

The preferred bidder is a joint venture between Murray & Roberts and WBHO.

Zille said a report on the funding gap had been submitted to the Fifa local organising committee, together with a repeat of the request that National Treasury underwrites any major cost escalation above the ten percent provided for in the tender.

Mayoral committee member for finance Ian Nielson said the Municipal Finance Management Act prevented the city from awarding the tender before all the funding was in place.

He said the outstanding R180 million would "continue to exercise our attention" over the next few weeks.

The city hoped to make the tender award by February 23.

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