NZ building chief warns on stadiums

Rugby World Cup 2011; The head of New Zealand's largest building firm has warned organisers of the 2011 Rugby World Cup that decisions on rebuilding stadiums and transport links need to be made shortly or they will not be completed in time.

Fletcher Building's chief executive Jonathan Ling also told the media after the company's annual shareholder meeting in Auckland that the NZ$190 million (98 million) redevelopment of Eden Park, which will host the final, and transport links in the city were of particular concern.

"We're getting to a point that unless some of these key projects are started soon they physically won't get finished in time for the World Cup," Ling said.

"Unless a decision is made shortly then no construction company will want it because it won't be able to be finished in time."

New Zealand was awarded the hosting rights for the event in 2005 with a commitment to upgrade Eden Park, which held the first World Cup final in 1987, to an International Rugby Board-mandated minimum capacity of 60,000 at a cost of about NZ$325 million (€168 million).

© 2007 The Irish Times

This article appears in the print edition of the Irish Times