Government fines consortium for World Cup venue problems

Rio de Janeiro, Feb 5 (IANS) The operator of 2014 FIFA World Cup venue Mineirao Stadium has been fined one million Brazilian reais ($503,000) for a series of construction faults.

The 62,000-capacity stadium in Brazil’s south-eastern city of Belo Horizonte officially opened last weekend, but problems were immediately found with venue entrances, parking and the water supply, reports Xinhua.

The penalty followed an emergency meeting Monday between Minas Gerais state governor Antonio Anastasia and the president of the Minas Arena operating consortium Ricardo Barra.

“Unfortunately there were some serious problems, mistakes and defects in regard to the operation of the stadium. We have taken these measures to ensure we correct the problems quickly. The government is going to closely and emphatically monitor the situation,” Anastasia said in a statement Monday.

The Mineirao Stadium and the Castelao Stadium in the north-eastern city of Fortaleza are so far the only two venues ready for June’s FIFA Confederations Cup, considered an organisational warm-up for the World Cup.

FIFA has given the other four host cities – Brasilia, Rio de Janeiro, Recife and Salvador – until April to complete stadium redevelopment work, which had initially been scheduled to finish last December.