Construction of South Africa's World Cup stadiums on track

Construction of South Africa's World Cup stadiums on track Johannesburg - The 10 stadiums marked for use at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa will all be completed on time, the local organizing committee's (LOC) chief competitions officer Derek Blanckensee announced Wednesday.

"Everything is on track. There are one or two minor problems, but there were no alarm bells or anything major to worry about," Blanckensee was quoted by the SAPA news agency as saying at the end of a week-long inspection tour by football's ruling body FIFA.

Johannesburg's Soccer City and the new Greenpoint stadium in Cape Town are the only venues where construction will run into 2010 while the other eight venues will be completed by the end of the year and on time.

"I expect both Soccer City and Greenpoint to be finished early in the new year," said Blanckensee.

LOC chief executive officer Danny Jordaan said South Africans could be proud of what they have achieved.

"It is fantastic seeing that most of the venues are almost ready," he said.

"It has been a hard slog, but a rewarding one from the initial concept to seeing them at this stage near completion. The co- operation from the hosts cities has been fantastic." (dpa)