Almost there

Sports

Tkatchenko says the venues to be used at next month’s Fifa Under-20 Women’s World Cup in Port Moresby will be officially opened after building inspections have been made and the facilities certified.

Speaking at the site of the Bava Park Stadium in the Bisini Sports Precinct yesterday, Tkatchenko said that venue as well as the other one in the process of being completed, the Sir John Guise Mini Football Stadium in Waigani, would be ready in two weeks — right on the cusp of the tournament which runs from
Nov 13 to Dec 3.
Hosts Papua New Guinea are set to play Brazil in their opening game at the Sir John Guise Stadium on the evening of the first day.
“With roughly three weeks to go before the Fifa U20 Women’s World Cup starts here in Port Moresby it’s going to be an exciting time,” Tkatchenko said.
“All our contractors and project managers, engineers and architects have stated very clearly that these facilities will be ready on time. We will be Games-ready for the World Cup.
“The NCDC physical planning board will do a full inspection once work is complete,”he said.
“The building board will do an inspection of the facilities to give certificates of compliance and to ensure the buildings are safe and ready to be occupied.
We expect this will be done over the next seven days.”
The tournament’s other two venues and the ones that will host the finals, the National Football Stadium and the SJGS, have only to be formally opened as little structural or refurbising work was needed on their sites.
“This is only one of the facilties (Bava) that will be made available to for the Fifa World Cup for the next
three to four weeks.
“I want to thank the PNG Sports Foundation for working with all the contractors to assist them ensure the job gets done properly and professionally,” he said.
With only 18 days left before the first round of games Tkatchenko, cut a confident figure in his mid morning press conference at the Bavaroko site.
“The final clean-up and final construction will happen over the next 14 days.”