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Governor asks for review of contracts for Dunas stadium

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George Fernandes - Natal
Posted on 21/07/2010 07:27 h
updated on 04/08/2010 18:25 h

The city of Natal is still running a serious risk of exclusion from the 2014 World Cup. Apart from the delay in launching the bidding process for the Private-Public Partnership (PPP) for the construction of the Dunas Stadium, now State Governor Iberê Ferreira de Souza has, this Tuesday (20 July) asked for the review of two contracts involving the projects for the Arena.

The Populous and Stadia Group firms were hired last month by the Government of the State of Rio Grande do Norte, without a tender process, for the execution of the basic and complementary projects on the Dunas stadium. The total value of the contract came to R$ 27 million, which makes it the most expensive stadium to be used in the 2014 World Cup.

At the time, the Government defended the hiring of these companies, as Populous has the author’s rights over the main project of the Dunas Stadium, while Stadia is specialized in projects of sports arenas. “Were we to open a tender process for each of the 70 projects, we would not have time to comply with time frames set by FIFA. And Populous has author’s rights”, said Fernando Fernandes, the Extraordinary Secretary for World Cup issues in Rio Grande do Norte and also President of the World Cup management team in the city of Natal.

"We have decided to reassess the contract signed with the companies and, later this week, we shall find a new format for carrying out the projects for the 2014 World Cup. This change shall not lead to any delays and shall also have total transparency for the process”, the Governor said.

Fernandes believes that the request for review of contracts could indeed delay the launch of the Invitation to Bid and also put the very candidacy of the capital of Rio Grande do Norte at risk. Not wanting to make a statement before the decision to be taken on Wednesday, the Secretary only said that he hopes there shall be a quick solution for this impasse.

Project of the future Arena das Dunas, in Natal (credit: Populous)

Stadia Group releases a note about the decision made by RN

In a note released to the Press at 6:30 p.m. today (21 July), the Stadia Group, responsible for the complementary projects of the Arena das Dunas, shed light on their position and also defended the transparency of the selection process for choosing the two architecture firms that shall be active within the Natal project. Please read the full communication as follows:

"The Stadia Group deeply regrets the decision taken by the Government of the State of Rio Grande do Norte, to suspend the contracts regarding the Arena das Dunas. As the company always does in all its projects, it has acted within the Law and also following the strictest of ethical and technical standards. We must stress that never have we refused to participate in any tender process and that the cancellation thereof was the sole and exclusive decision of the State Government. The Stadia Group has just followed the legal procedures for this process, which was fully monitored by three different instances of the Attorney’s Office of the State of Rio Grande do Norte and then made public through the official site of the said Office (PGE-RN). The company has already contacted the State Government to make sure that this decision does not get in the way of the schedule of works for this project or lead to delays that could harm the candidacy of Natal to be a host city in the 2014 World Cup.”

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