South Africa bill for 2010 soars to $1.5 billion

South Africa's projected bill for hosting the 2010 World Cup has ballooned to more than 12 billion rand ($1.59 billion).

Figures released by the organising committee yesterday put the cost of stadiums at 8.3 billion rand ($1.1 billion), transport at 3.7 billion rand ($486 million) and broadcasting at 400 million rand ($52.5 million).

When South Africa won the bid in 2004 to become the first African hosts of the tournament, estimates put the total cost at 2.3 billion rand.

The committee denied underestimating the costs, saying plans had changed because new soccer stadiums are being built rather than using existing rugby grounds as planned.

"There has been no increase in the costs of stadiums but we will have built five new stadiums specifically for football," chief executive Danny Jordaan said.

Construction work on the new stadiums in Cape Town, Durban, Nelspruit, Polokwane and Port Elizabeth begins in January and will be completed inside 34 months.

There has been widespread criticism of increasing World Cup costs, along with questions over what will happen to the new stadiums when the tournament ends.

In Cape Town and Durban, 70,000-seater stadiums are planned. South Africa's national league struggles to fill small venues, sparking worries the new bigger stadiums could become expensive white elephants.

Jordaan dismissed media reports that organisers were behind schedule. But fears the country's high crime-rate could deter visitors were acknowledged.

"Crime is a South African thing. We shouldn't wait until 2010 to deal with this matter," Jordaan said.