South Africa rail project delayed
South Africa’s effort to host a successful World Cup have been dashed by the news that their major high speed rail link project will not be ready for the beginning of the 2010 tournament. It has been announced that the rail line will not be operational until at least two weeks into the tournament.
Organisers of South Africa 2010 had hoped fans would arrive at Johannesburg airport and board a high-speed train to the commercial centre. Instead, most football fans’ first experience will now be a taxi or a shuttle bus and more than likely a sizable traffic jam.
Builders have been working on the expensive rail link for the past three years. The contractors demanded an additional £107 million to accelerate their work. However, the government have refused claiming that it’s too much money for just a few weeks gain.
In another development, a World Cup organiser has hit out at spiralling accommodation prices for the event. Organising committee boss Danny Jordaan said inflated prices could damage South Africa’s prospects of enticing tourists back after the tournament.
Mr Jordaan told Reuters news agency that he was concerned to hear that some owners of hotels and private homes have inflated prices by up to six times during the past few months.
He said: “It is one of the things we asked the tourism authorities to look at. It is not to look at the World Cup as a once-off, but to see tourism over a period of time creating a stable and predictable basis. Otherwise you will get a huge influx of tourists into the country and they don’t return. Unfortunately this is one of the things that has emerged around major events.”
