Without BNDES funding, Itaquerão stadium may be shut down.
The warning was issued by Andrés Sanchez, former president of Corinthians and former director of the CBF (Brazilian Football Confederation); according to the official, the financing and the package of improvements for the stadium area, promised by BNDES (Brazilian Development Bank) under Luciano Coutinho, have not yet been released, which could force the club and the construction company of Marcelo Odebrecht, responsible for the work, to halt the work at the end of this month; FIFA is awaiting the stadium's completion in December.
247 - After FIFA identified the Maracanã as the main concern for this year's Confederations Cup (read moreFormer Corinthians president and former CBF (Brazilian Football Confederation) director Andrés Sanchez drew attention, this Monday, to the problems facing the Itaquerão stadium, which will represent São Paulo in the 2014 World Cup. In an interview with the TV Gazeta program Mesa Redonda, Sanchez said that the construction of the Corinthians stadium could stop at the end of this month due to the bureaucracy that the club and the construction company Odebrecht are facing in order to receive the investment agreed upon with the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES).
According to the director, the financing promised by BNDES (Brazilian Development Bank) and the package of improvements for the region have not been released, which could force the club and the construction company to halt work overnight. "Everyone knows that Corinthians depended on the BNDES financing and the guarantee of investments for improvements in the east zone to continue the work. If these don't come through in the next few weeks, we will stop the work on the arena," he warned. "Neither the financing nor the package has been released. If it doesn't come through in a month, the work stops," he added.
Without receiving the agreed-upon funds from BNDES (Brazilian Development Bank), Odebrecht was forced to take out loans from private banks to meet the deadline stipulated by FIFA – December of this year. "If it weren't for FIFA's measures, the Corinthians stadium would already be finished with the money invested so far. Corinthians spent R$ 30 million, Odebrecht is taking out loans, and Corinthians is responsible for the interest on those loans," explained Sanchez, who, despite the concern, believes the document unlocking the funds should be released soon.
Improvements
The package of improvements for the Itaquera region includes the construction of government-run schools and technical colleges, as well as the extension of the Radial Leste highway, the main access road to the region and the stadium. It also includes the construction of a bus terminal and the revitalization of train and metro stations.