Despite having only 15% of the work completed, the government of Rio Grande do Norte and its partner in the public-private partnership (PPP), the contractor company OAS, claim that the schedule of Arena das Dunas, stadium of Natal for the 2014 World Cup, is ahead of schedule in 35 days.
According to the chief executive officer of Arena das Dunas Concessão e Eventos S/A, Charles Maia, the installation of 3,300 stakes that will support the new sports arena of Rio Grande do Norte will be completed until next May, and the installation of the bleachers blocks should start in March.
"The foundation phase was anticipated in twenty-five days. We are gaining time to reduce the risk of possible setbacks," Maia said.
Also according to him, about 90% of the earthworks have been completed and the waste of the Machadão stadium and the Machadinho gymnasium, demolished last year, are being reused in the work.
Even with the work slightly ahead, Maia kept the delivery date: "December 2013 is our deadline," he confirmed.
Loan
To receive the loan of R$ 396 million from BNDES (Brazilian Development Bank), OAS had to hire a company to do the physical and financial monitoring of the work.
With the audit, Maia hopes to receive the first installment of 20% (R$ 79.2 million) later this month of January. So far, the work was performed with funds from OAS.
In addition to OAS monitoring, the state government will also have to hire a company to oversee the project. A first notice to bid was released last November (learn more). But the government suspended the bidding at the request of the State Court of Audit (TCE-RN).
According to Torres, TCE found that is not responsibility of the government, but of the contractor, hiring a company to oversee the works. The new notice to bid should be released this month.
"We do not have qualified people in the government to oversee a project of this size, so we are going to hire," Torres said.
highlights
04/05 | News
