The biggest challenge facing construction at NMB stadium are the upgrading of the roads around it.

Some believe the loss of the Confederations Cup to be a blessing in disguise because it has allowed the natural progression for work to take place at a steady pace. The biggest concern for those involved is the upgrading of the infrastructure surrounding the stadium.

“The construction of the roads is a worrying factor at the moment,” said Mandela Bay 2010 executive director Errol Heyns. Time is slowly running out – engineers will have to put their heads together and get things rolling when it comes to the roads. That is the only major concern in the preparations,” he said.

He also expressed his satisfaction with the progress being made at the stadium and his relief that the world economic crisis has had little effect on the building of the inspirational stadium. “Luckily the financial crisis did not have much impact on us, simply because our procurement had been done so much earlier,” he said.

With most of the main construction in its final phases of completion, there is little worry now as the initial deadline of 31 March need not be met anymore.

“We no longer need to chase the deadline of 31 March, so we won’t be rushing the work. We will have to find the most economical way to finish a high-quality stadium, which will be one of the top in the country. It will be the first newly built stadium to be complete, more than a year before the World Cup,” he said.

The half-way mark for the erection of the roof girders was commemorated just two days after the 500-day mark to the 2010 kick-off. The fast and efficient way in which the roof girders have been placed put many critics on the back leg. The 18th girder marked an important milestone because it indicated the light at the end of the construction tunnel. The 18th girder weighs 50 tons and is actually one of the lighter of those already up (the heaviest weighs a mammoth 72 tons )it went up under the watchful eyes of 30 workers and engineers. Each girder takes between two to three days to fully settle into place. The PTFE membrane is already being installed on those erected girders.

With 80 days having taken place since the first girder was erected in November last year, it is believed that the roof could be completed by March. The first game is however, scheduled for May while the first full-capacity match, a rugby game, will be staged on June 16 when the British and Irish Lions play an Eastern Cape Coastal Team.

About 40 000 seats have been installed already, whilst the construction of the columns, slabs, precast seating, precast raker beams and the moat is 100 percent complete. Fitting of the lower terrace spec seats is 99 percent complete and upper terrace spec seats are 75 percent complete.

The precinct surrounding the development includes upgrading of Fettes road, where the contractor is already on site as well as Prince Alfred- and Milner roads where the contractors will be on site in March. It is also expected that the stadium operator will be appointed in that month.