War in Middle East hinders Sabina renovation

Cross-currents: Now, a distant war is delaying renovation work at Sabina Park, which will look like this on completion © Getty Images

The conflict in Lebanon between Israel and the Hezbollah militants has impeded the World Cup 2007 preparations. The roof for the new stand being built at the northern end of Sabina Park, which is being renovated for the World Cup, is being made at Haifa in Israel and that city has been a major target of bombings.

However, the show must go on and it is. The bombings have been occurring during daytime and the workers in Haifa have adapted by changing their work hours in an effort to meet the November 30 deadline. Avichai Menelson, project manager for Ashtrom Building Systems, the Israeli company which is redeveloping Sabina Park, revealed this after an inspection of the facility by officials from the ICC, Jamaica Cricket 2007 Limited, the local organising committee of the World Cup and the media on August 9.

"We have sub-contracted the structural canopy to an Israeli sub-contractor in the city of Haifa," he is quoted as saying by Jamaica Gleaner. "The city of Haifa, as all of you know, is the target of the Hezbollah bombardment so, indirectly, it could affect our schedule. But the sub-contractor has worked night shifts in order to accommodate the deadlines that we've set. He's going to make the target, he's committed to that. He's working night shifts, during that time there's no missiles being shot at the city of Haifa where they are situated," Menelson, himself an Israeli, said.

"As a matter of fact, the first shipment [of the roof] is leaving this week for the port of Kingston directly from the port in Israel and we are actually not yielding to the war situation and will be on target."

Describing the complex nature of the structure Menelson said: "It's a thrust roof ... a three-dimensional thrust made out of alloy, steel pipes. It is a very complex structure that is being made by one of the leading fabricators in Israel. We're going to start erecting in the middle of September ... it is going to change the whole sky view."