Arena Corinthians is 97% complete.
The stadium that will host the opening game of the World Cup in June is nearly complete, construction officials said on Monday, although work has not yet resumed on the roof that collapsed, killing two workers in November. FIFA, the governing body of world football, said on Monday that it was very pleased with the progress made, although Secretary General Jérôme Valcke noted that the stadium should have been finished last month.
By Andrew Downie
SAO PAULO, Jan 20 (Reuters) - The stadium that will host the opening game of the World Cup in June is nearly complete, construction officials said on Monday, although work has not yet resumed on the roof that collapsed, killing two workers in November.
"The stadium is 97 percent complete," said Andrés Sanchez, former president of Corinthians who is overseeing the construction of Arena Corinthians.
"We have a few things pending because of the accident, but we have the clearance and by the end of the month the damaged part will be removed. We will deliver the stadium on April 15th."
FIFA, the governing body of world football, said on Monday that it was very pleased with the progress made, although Secretary General Jérôme Valcke noted that the stadium should have been completed last month.
"We are very pleased with what we saw today," Valcke added. "Much work has been done, much work still needs to be done at the accident site, but we are quite confident that everything is back on track."
The stadium in the eastern part of the city of São Paulo is one of the most expensive venues among the 12 World Cup host cities and was one of the last to begin construction.
Two workers died in November when a crane installing part of the stadium's roof collapsed. As a result, the delivery deadline was delayed by four months.
STRUCTURE
The collapsed structure, a robust 420-ton tubular metal piece, is still in place where it fell, leaning against one side of the roof.
When asked how the project could be considered 97 percent complete when a large part of the roof is still clearly damaged, the stadium's chief engineer told Reuters that the affected area is relatively small.
"It's a very small part," declared Frederico Barbosa. "Everything else is done or almost done."
The delay in the construction of the stadium that will host the opening match between Brazil and Croatia on June 12 is one of the problems affecting preparations for the first World Cup in South America since 1978.
None of the six stadiums that were supposed to be completed in December were finished on time. The other six were completed last year and used in the Confederations Cup, an event that served as a test for the World Cup.
Public transportation projects in several cities have also been abandoned or scaled down, and there are also concerns that new terminals at some airports will not be ready in time.
Valcke stated that he will only speak about other game venues after visiting them, during his first trip to Brazil in 2014.
He will go to Cuiabá at the end of this Monday and will continue to Curitiba on Tuesday. On Wednesday he will be in Natal, where he will participate in the inauguration ceremony of the Arena das Dunas.
Valcke said he will spend one week a month in Brazil until the start of the competition.