Kwesi Mugisa, Staff Reporter
Venue development director and Chief Operating Officer of ICC Cricket World Cup Inc., Donald Lockerbie, believes that Sabina Park is now out of the woods and will meet its projected deadline.
"When we were here officially a few months ago the cement shortage and other issues had slowed the process down, we were very concerned at the time." Lockerbie said.
"However, non-stop work and a sense of urgency have now definitely put us back on track. The venue will definitely have a wow factor, it's sexy and it is going to be a fantastic place for the opening match and the semi-final." he added.
The cement crisis, which saw more than 500 tons of defective cement issued to the Caribbean market, had crippled not only the Jamaican construction but put severe strain on the November deadline.
"We have been very encouraged with what we have seen here today," said Lockerbie on a tour of the facility with the ICC World Cup official media partners, Global Cricket Corporation, yesterday.
"It is easy to see where significant progress has been made; Sabina Park is now out of the woods and quite on time." the director continued.
Lockerbie is also confident that the venue will receive approval from the ICC's top engineers, who will visit the site on September 15, followed by the ICC board, which is expected to give its stamp of approval for a completed venue in a visit scheduled for the end of November.
The venue development director also strongly refuted claims from the New Zealand press a little over a month ago that the playing facilities were desperately behind schedule.
"When I look at things here today I don't see any desperation at all. What I see is a venue that's on target and one that is going to be great," Lockerbie said.
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