The ongoing dispute over which consortium should build Durban’s 2010 Soccer World Cup stadium was adjourned until April 2 by the Durban High Court on Monday.
A consortium led by Group 5 has been named as the preferred bidder, but has yet to sign a contract with the eThekwini municipality.
Meanwhile, rival bidder PG Mavundla Engineering and its partner, the Italian company Cooperativa Muratori Cementiti di Ravenna, want the court to review the tender process urgently.
The consortium contends it should have won the contract because its bid was the lowest ”by several million rands”, and because it would have scored the most empowerment points and finished fastest.
The adjournment was heard in Chambers, where PG Mavundla withdrew an application for an interdict preventing any further work by Group 5.
”The joint venture does not wish to imperil Durban’s position as a host city for the 2010 Soccer World Cup,” the PG Mavundla consortium said in a statement issued later by its attorneys. ”It has therefore decided not to seek a court order which could delay construction.
”The joint venture, however, remains of the view that it should have been awarded the contract …”
Elated at the decision not to halt construction, Durban mayor Obed Mlaba said the building of the stadium is not simply a local matter, but also a continental one. ”We cannot afford to have those who don’t want Africa to succeed to have anything to gloat about.”
National African Federated Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Nafcoc) members bearing banners reading ”Nafcoc supports BEE [black economic empowerment] for local SMMEs” staged a small protest outside the Durban High Court. — Sapa