The 2010 FIFA World Cup is just around the corner with the first
match kicking off in less than two years. During the event, all eyes
will literally be on South Africa when the immense influx of football
fans, tourists, world leaders and news reporters will paint a picture
of South Africa’s capabilities to the rest of the world.
Major cities such as Johannesburg, Bloemfontein, Durban, Cape Town,
and Port Elizabeth are already showing the signs that the world’s most
popular sports tournament is coming. This is without doubt the biggest
event to be hosted by South Africa, and the incredible transformations
taking place in these cities are a testament as to how important a
successful execution of the tournament is for South Africa.
South Africa is rising to the challenge admirably by using
construction and formwork for building state-of-the-art sports
complexes and stadiums, upgrading major airports, revamping major
cities, overhauling the transport system through the creation of the
Gautrain and extending freeway sizes along with fixing roads and
existing public transport systems. With the incredible formwork and
construction happening in South Africa right now, by 2010, the country
will be able to host a highly successful World Cup tournament and
illustrate to millions of people around the world what a capable and
incredible country South Africa is.
Sports Stadiums
Five brand new stadiums are
under construction for the FIFA 2010 World Cup including Green Point
Stadium (the previous Green Point Stadium was demolished in 2007), the
Peter Mokaba Sports Complex, the Mbombela Stadium in Mpumalanga, the
Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth (which, when complete,
will be the fastest constructed sports stadium in the world) and the
King Senzangakhona Stadium in Durban.
Other stadiums include the Soccer City Stadium and Ellis Park
Stadium in Johannesburg, the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein, the
Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane, the Loftus Versfeld Stadium in
Pretoria and the Royal Bafokeng Sports Palace in Rustenburg. These
stadiums each require huge construction processes and would not be able
to be completed without formwork. With the use of formwork,
construction companies are able to create magnificent and world-class
stadiums, for example, the Mbombela Stadium in Mpumalanga has been
designed to mix modern architecture with trusted formwork and
construction techniques.
18 concrete and steel giraffe structures provide supports for the
steel roof to the stadium which will have used 50000 cubic meters of
poured concrete, 6000 tons of steel, 90000 cubic meters of formwork
concrete slabs used to create retaining walls and sheer walls to raise
the Mbombela Stadium from the ground.
The Green Point Stadium in
Cape Town will have made use of 130000 cubic meters of concrete, 390000
square meters of formwork, 12000 tons of reinforcing steel, six million
bricks and a steel cable tensioned glazed roof.
The Gautrain
The Gautrain is an underground
railway system under construction in Johannesburg to help ease the
pressure on public transport during the tournament and to help traffic
flow in the city. The planned route of the train is run between four
main stations – Johannesburg, Sandton, Tshwane and OR Tambo Airport and
also to additional stations – Rosebank, Marlboro, Midrand, Centurion,
Hatfield and Rhodesfield.
Formwork is a major part of the Gautrain construction as the entire
railway runs underground and requires underground boring and high
strength supporting walls. There are already 783 precast segments
manufactured for lining the tunnel. In Midrand there is a precast yard
which is capable of pouring 120 cubic meters of concrete per hour.
Various bridges along the railway are under construction, requiring the
use of M-Beam Formwork which is transported via trucks to the sites
where the bridges are under construction.
Roads and Infrastructure
Because of the influx
of people expected for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the need for reliable
infrastructure and transportation has increased greatly. With so many
tourists expected to flock to South Africa during the tournament, the
road system in the country is receiving a major upgrade. For example,
the eThekwini (Durban) municipality is upgrading the Western Freeway.
As it is one of the country’s busiest roads and would have been unable
to cope with the heavy traffic expected during the World Cup tournament
in terms of traffic flow and the road strength.
To ease congestion, both directions of the freeway are being
extended to house additional lanes, making the freeway a four or five
lane structure. Formwork is especially important when freeway bridges
are under construction due to the difficult nature of constructing such
heavy structures at a height. Formwork can be pre-cast and driven in or
completed by scaffolding formwork.
City and Buildings
Many city centres in South
Africa have suffered tremendous neglect as crime levels in the CBDs
have kept the areas unpopular and unmaintained. With the forthcoming
FIFA World Cup, major overhauls of the cities in South Africa are
underway to create an attractive and memorable experience for everyone
involved in the World Cup tournament.
In Johannesburg, the NASREC Expo Centre is currently being renovated
for use as the media centre during the tournament with the outside
areas already becoming more aesthetic with paved pathways. The CBD in
Cape Town is seeing many benefits from the renovations happening in the
centre – many old buildings are being returned into their former glory
with careful renovations whilst the V&A Waterfront has just been
extended.
The construction on the Waterfront has included a major emphasis on
parking but also on increasing the size of the extremely popular
building to include more shops, restaurants and activities for the
influx of tourists. All of the major cities in South Africa are
experiencing such renovations, increasing the attractiveness of South
Africa to the foreigners who will visit the country during the famous
tournament.
Formwork has been a major contributor to the construction efforts
underway in South Africa. Using formwork, the country is producing
first-rate sports stadiums, superior infrastructure, renovated, new and
stylish buildings, better transport systems and generally, a modern,
world-class destination. Through formwork, South Africa has the
potential to prove to the world just how capable the country is of
hosting the 2010 FIFA World Cup successfully.