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FIFA World Cup 2010 South Africa – Scaffold and Formwork Contractors

The FIFA World Cup 2010 Football Tournament (Soccer World Cup to South Africans) is a mere 20 months away and South Africa is truly abuzz with preparations. There is an enormous amount of pressure on South Africa to execute a successful and memorable tournament and work has begun in full force to ensure that the tournament is fault-free.

Construction and Scaffolding is Key
The construction sector is booming and reaping the benefits of these preparations as stadiums are built along with new roads and freeways. Buildings, suburbs and districts are being renovated to create an attractive, first-world image of South Africa to visiting foreigners and television audiences from around the world.

Scaffolding is imperative to the preparatory processes as scaffolding is required for not only various formwork and construction projects, but also to provide safe and easy access for renovations and restorations.

Roads
The influx of people into South Africa for the World Cup, and especially into the main cities of Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban, requires that many infrastructure upgrades be made in these cities. The Department of Transport has been given a budget of R92-billion to bring the standard of the roads up to a level where they can cope with the enormous influx of traffic.

In Cape Town, the freeway system has always been relatively small and unable to cope with the volume of everyday traffic in and out of town. Roads are being widened to cope with the increased traffic that 2010 will bring. Many other cities are expanding their road infrastructure and repairing problems such as potholes. Scaffolding is used to build these new roads and complete the necessary formwork for the new infrastructure.

Buildings and Structures
In 2010 host cities, hotels are being built, old buildings are being restored to their former attractiveness and 'bad' areas are being cleaned up. The older buildings that are being restored are a mixture of high-rise blocks and smaller structures and scaffolding is needed to complete all of these adjustments and new structures.

Scaffolding is needed in the restoration process to allow workers access to high and difficult places to reach, whilst maintaining the safety of the workmen and bystanders.

Airports
One of the major construction projects taking place to accommodate the World Cup in 2010 is the expansion of South Africa's main airports. Over R5.2-billion has been invested in developing South Africa's airports to world-class standards. Durban, Cape Town and Johannesburg have seen the majority of expansions, especially Johannesburg's OR Tambo Airport which has benefitted from a R1.6-billion investment to develop the central terminal.

The terminal is linked to the Gautrain, a high speed train which will travel from OR Tambo Airport to Johannesburg.

Durban, Cape Town and Johannesburg airports have had their existing parking facilities upgraded to large, multi-story parkades to allow sufficient parking for the influx of visitors. R132-million has been budgeted for refurbishments at national airports which will provide temporary facilities during the tournament.

Stadiums
There are five stadiums which are being constructed from new, adding to the stadiums already existing in South Africa. Green Point Stadium in the Western Cape (the previous Green Point Stadium was demolished in 2007), the Peter Mokaba Sports Complex, the Mbombela Stadium in Mpumalanga, Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth and the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban are under construction currently to be finished for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

The FNB Stadium, Ellis Park in Johannesburg and Loftus Versfeld in Tshwane, along with the Royal Bafokeng Stadium in North West and Vodacom Park in Mangaung (Bloemfontein) are in the process of being upgraded to increase capacity and improve facilities.

These stadiums require enormous engineering feats and advanced use of scaffolding and formwork to ensure that the structures are completed on time and in good quality to achieve the maximum success for South Africa in hosting the tournament.

The FIFA World Cup is the most watched sporting event in the world. All eyes will be on South Africa to perform not only on the field, but also as a host country. With current construction underway, scaffolding is helping engineers and contractors to achieve top results in less time, with less man power but with the maximum safety available.

About The Author:
Cape Formwork Contractors (CFC) is a scaffolding and formwork contracting company providing scaffolding and formwork services to building contractors and restorations currently underway in South Africa.