The Cape Environmental Protection Association (CEPA) legal team on Tuesday agreed to drop its court application to stop the partial demolition of the existing stadium at Green Point after it discovered that the planned demolition had been completed.

In a telephonic interview with Engineering News Online shortly after the hearing, City of Cape Town spokesperson Pieter Cronje said that the legal teams of the city and the Fifa organising committee had then argued that the association should pay the cost of the two interdict applications.

“On the question of cost, judgement has been reserved and no date has yet been set,” he explained.

Cronje reiterated that construction on the new 68 000-seater stadium would progress to meet the deadline of 2009.

Although the demolition programme on the existing stadium had been fully completed, a portion of the grandstand had been retained as planned.

Currently on site excavation and service diversion, including storm water, water and electricity, was under way, in preparation for cement pouring on the foundation of the new stadium “sometime next week”.

The new stadium will host the semifinals of the 2010 soccer World Cup.

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