Brazil 2014 report reveals "most projects will be completed in 2013"

By David Gold

May 25 – Brazil’s Ministry of Sport has revealed its latest assessment of preparations for the 2014 World Cup, with Minister Aldo Rebelo claiming that “most projects will be completed in 2013”.

The assessment, the Ministry’s third, was revealed at a press conference which highlighted preparations across the country.

The Ministry of Sports emphasised the work that has been done already, saying they had generated 300,000 jobs through the World Cup to date.

“The World Cup is already a reality and has generated 300,000 jobs, and it will continue to generate another 300,000 temporary jobs,” said Rebelo (pictured above, far right).

“It will also be a great opportunity for the states.

“In December 2010, there were 20 building projects.

“For the second assessment in September 2011, there were 34, and now, there are 60.

“Most development projects will be completed in 2013.”

The investment required to make the World Cup a reality has not changed either, and stands at R$27.1 billion (£8.5 billion/$13.4 billion/€10.6 billion).

Brazil has been dogged by delays with the reconstruction and building of stadiums for the competition.

However, the South American nation claims the reconstruction of stadiums is on course and all will be completed next year in time for the World Cup.

“All projects being developed are on the anticipated timeline,” Minister Wagner Bittencourt insisted.

“A great number of them are in construction or have already been completed.”

Prior to the world cup in 2014, the country will host the Confederations Cup next summer.

However, only the stadiums in Fortaleza, Salvador, Brasília, Curitiba and Belo Horizonte are more than 50 per cent finished.

Brazil is almost near a resolution to the long running World Cup law dispute, with President Dilma Rousseff (pictured below) set to sign the papers and put the issue to bed later this year.

The Ministry of Sport claims that the guarantees made to FIFA when they agreed to host the World Cup have been assured after it passed through the country’s upper and lower houses of Parliament.

But airport capacity has been the main concern with significant upgrades needed.

Ten of the 13 airports prioritised for the World Cup have refurbishment projects underway, with five completed – one each in Cuiabá, Porto Alegre and Campinas, and two in São Paulo.

A host of urban mobility projects are also ongoing in nine host cities, with 51 projects to be carried out by the Government.

Fifty-five per cent are already underway, while 14 per cent are ready to begin – Brazil is confident most will be ready by the second half of 2013.

Meanwhile, Brazil’s Government has launched official Facebook and Twitter channels in English as they seek to reach a global audience ahead of the 2014 World Cup.

With two years to go until the World Cup, Brazil is seeking to provide official news and information to the world.

With Rio de Janeiro also staging the 2016 Summer Olympics and Paralympics, Brazil is set to be the centre of the world’s attention two times in three years.

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