BEIJING, June 11 (Xinhuanet) -- While workers scramble to finish Brazil's stadiums in time for the World Cup, other officials in the country are worried about getting people to and from the sporting venues across host cities. In many places, infrastructure works like public transportation have suffered the same plight as the stadiums severe delays in construction.
It's non-stop work at the Arena da Baixada Stadium in the Southern city of Curitiba. This venue was among the most problematic in Brazil in the run-up to the tournament, despite the workers' pride in doing this job.
"I feel very honored to work here. Now I am a part of the history of Curitiba. I think they should inscribe the names of all the workers that made this happen in a marble plate by the entrance, as they did in the arena in Brasilia." said Sebastiao Fernandes, Construction Worker.
The retractable roof that was in the original project plan was abandoned. Still, it seems the stadium will be ready on time for the fans and players that will come for the tournament.
Accommodations for media covering the event, however, won't exactly be world-class.
"This building was to be the media center for the World Cup here in Curitiba - but it won't be ready on time so organizers had to improvise. Journalists will work from this tent, right beside the construction site." said Paulo Cabral, Curitiba, Brazil.
The city's bus terminal is another project billed as part of the World Cup package, but visitors may not see it complete.
The state secretary for the World Cup says the Federal Government had promised to pay for everything but in the end much of the cost was passed on to the states.
"If we knew of all this at the time of the choice of the host cities, if we were aware of everything that it would imply and how much we'd have to invest, I believe we wouldn't have made so much effort to be a host city." said Mario Celso Cunha, Parana World Cup Secretary.
Further north- Fortaleza, capital of Ceara is an exception: the Arena has been ready since December 2012 and a number of matches have already have been played here. But in the weeks running up to the tournament the city was still struggling to get road works finished in time.
"Even if some of these works are not ready in time for the World Cup they will be here afterwards for the benefit of the population. It's an important legacy here and in other states that will host World Cup matches." said Ferruccio Feitosa, Ceara World Cup Secretary.
No problems with the arena in Curitiba. It was ready ahead of schedule and on BUDGET. But it's not only sporting venues that it takes to make a world cup you also need infrastructure like public transportation. And this can be more of a problem.
The Fortaleza Light Railway would connect the city's bus terminal to the Port - on the other side of town. The project was slated to be ready in June of last year - but as in other host cities, things didn't go as planned.
"Many things won't be ready in time. There were 109 projects that initially made it onto the list of the World Cup priorities. Only 25 of these 109 are ready for the tournament." said Rodrigo Prado, Association of Architects & Engineers.
As the World Cup closes in, it's expected that all twelve stadiums will somehow be ready for play ... But much of the infrastructure that should come with them won't be ready. Brazilians may benefit in the future. Tourists right now will have to make do.
(Source: CNTV.cn)
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