Archive for June, 2010
Johannesburg’s Preparations for FIFA World Cup 2010
For over a century, football has been the most popular and most widely played game in the city of Johannesburg. Due to this football craze of the locals, Johannesburg has been selected as one of the host cities for FIFA World Cup 2010. Apart from football, Johannesburg has been host to many epic matches of cricket and rugby as well. Thus Johannesburg flights comprise a major portion of the African air traffic. The stadiums that will be used during FIFA World Cup are:
Rand Stadium:
Rand stadium is the oldest stadium of Johannesburg and was built between 1949 and 1951. For many years, amateur matches were played here and the stadium could not be allocated for professional matches. An all-white football team had been founded in the city that turned professional and they wanted to hire the stadium as their club. However, they were not given permission for this as the stadium was set for only amateur matches. During the 1970s, the stadium was given a great revival which included upgraded changing rooms, VIP stands and more seating space. In 2006, Rand Stadium was completely demolished to allow a new stadium to be built in its place. The new Rand Stadium is a world class venue for football matches, capable of holding FIFA World Cup 2010 matches.
Orlando Stadium:
Orlando Stadium was constructed in 1959 in Johannesburg and was home to, much of the city’s events. These events included football matches as well as political rallies, gatherings and annual sports days of schools. Apart from football, Orlando Stadium was used for netball and volleyball and was home to the Premier Soccer League club, Moroka Swallos. In the year 2006, the stadium was completely demolished and rebuilt until mid of 2008 at a cost of 337 million rand. After the construction, the 24,000 seater has been upgraded into a 45,000 seater and has been equipped with all the modern amenities.
Ellis Park Stadium:
It has been found out that until the beginning of 20th century, the site of Ellis Park consisted of obsolete brickfields and reservoirs. Around 1908, the site was home to Johannesburg’s only swimming bath, a lake, tennis courts, playing fields and terraced promenades. It was in 1912 that the then mayor of the town set the site for the construction of a stadium. The stadium is named after the mayor, John Dowell Ellis. For many years, tennis and rugby were played here and in 1980s, the stadium was demolished to build another one, capable of holding rugby matches. The stadium has now been upgraded and turned into a world class venue capable of holding the matches for FIFA 2010.
Soccer City:
Soccer City is the largest stadium in Africa and can hold up to 80,000 spectators. Its architecture has been inspired from the African pot “Calabash” and is an extremely spectacular stadium. It looks way more beautiful when lit up at night. The stadium has been constructed keeping in mind the requirements of FIFA World Cup 2010. Venues like these are sure to make the FIFA matches exciting, thus flights to Johannesburg have been completely booked and the tickets to these matches, totally sold out.
Airlines around the globe are offering cheap flights to Johannesburg in order to accommodate the large influx of tourists into the city. This has made easier for soccer fans to grab their seats on board and enjoy the matches of the teams which they support.
Kazakhstan’s Economy
Kazakhstan has the largest economy in the entire Central Asian region due to its substantial oil, mineral and metal reserves. Foreign investors also play an important role in maintaining the country’s economic stability. Kazakhstan’s enormous land area also provides it a considerable potential for agricultural development. The country’s grassland plains can accommodate grain and livestock production.
Kazakhstan attained industrial production growth in 2009 by taking a few strategic steps. Over the past year, the country implemented around 22 investment projects worth $2.5 billion. Kazakhstan also launched its second energy transit corridor in 2009 in order to solve electricity problems in the country’s southern region.
The Kazakhstan president, Nursultan Nazarbayev, likewise adapted a strategic plan to achieve an impressive economic growth. The Kazakhstan OSCE government refinanced the loans of manufacturing companies by placing “Fund’s stress assets” in commercial banks. The country also managed to finance several investment projects in the fields of energy, engineering and pharmaceuticals.
In addition to this, the country’s government also plans to allot an additional 80.5 billion budget to create additional jobs, as well as to keep the 3,000 existing jobs. As for the country’s innovative and industrial development, a five-year state program has been implemented to enhance Kazakhstan’s economy.
In terms of Agriculture, Kazakhstan’s gross grain harvest for 2009 reached $23.1 tons, displaying a substantial increase of around 36% from the previous year (2008). Kazakhstan’s active development of an export infrastructure provides the country with an access to the largest sales market.
One of the main routes for Kazakhstan’s grain exports goes to China. For this reason, the country allocated a budget to initiate the construction of a railway grain terminal that is complete with a reloading capacity of up to a million tons.
Finally, the country’s investment prospects were virtually not affected by the recent global financial crisis. Kazakhstan’s total capital investment has remained stable since 2008.
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Kazakhstan