HM Pitje stadium still under construction
The HM Pitje stadium in Mamelodi is still under construction but will be operational once the building's first phase is completed, the Tshwane metro council said.
The long-awaited HM Pitje stadium in Mamelodi will be operational once the first phase of the building project is completed, said Tshwane mayoral spokesperson Blessing Manale. He could not confirm when the first phase would be completed.
The disclosure follows a statement by the Democratic Alliance (DA) that the stadium’s construction, which started in 2005, was delayed due to a cancellation with the contractors because a roof design had been flawed. DA Shadow MMC for Sport, Recreation, Art and Culture, Johan Welmans, said this was one of the unanswered questions he put to mayor Kgosientso Ramokgopa during the previous Tshwane council meeting.
“Questions were then put to the Gauteng provincial legislature’s MEC for Infrastructure Development, Nandi Mayathula-Khoza, who confirmed the contract with the original project contractor was cancelled because of a flaw in the roof design and other service providers were contracted,” he said.
Manale said the sport and recreation department recommended to the mayoral committee in November 2011 that the department take over the completion of the stadium project as the Gauteng province failed to do so. “The department of sport and recreation was left with no option but to appoint its own professional team and resuscitate the project. The department allocated the project to a team of consultants,” he said.
Welmans said it was announced in 2009 by the previous executive mayor, Gwen Ramokgopa, that the stadium would become one of the 2010 FIFA World Cup venues, with a budget of R60 million for completion.
“Several disputes and resolutions with contractors and service providers and the re-design of the roof bring the spending on the HM Pitje Stadium project now up to R125 326 880, more than double the original R60 million budgeted for the completion of the stadium.”
Manale said a specialist consultant was appointed to advise on the suitability of the facility in terms of the FIFA World Cup and the Premier soccer league requirements and to provide architectural and urban planning input to the facility.
“After completion of the assessment by the consulting team, it became clear that the main pavilion structure needs to be corrected in order to comply with regulations and legislation. Funds have been requested for the upgrading of the stadium as per the assessment and its recommendations are pending approval for future implementation,” he told Rekord.
He said the proposed implementation plan is phased over five years, which includes the existing metal stands, parking areas and ticket offices. “It has substantial financial implications,” said Manale.
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