Audley Boyd, Assistant Sport Editor
Donald Lockerbie, venue development director and chief operating officer of ICC Cricket World Cup 2007 Inc., discusses plans with Chris Smith (left), venue development manager, on a tour of Sabina Park. - Junior Dowie/Staff Photographer
BELIEVE IT or not, the war in the middle east between Israeli and Hezbollah forces from Lebanon is impacting on developments right here in our midst.
The roof for the new stand being built at the northern end of Sabina Park - which is being upgraded for next year's ICC Cricket World Cup - is being made in Haifa, Israel.
That city is a major target of bombings from Hezbollah militants in Lebanon.
However, the Hezbollah bom-bardment is concentrated during daytime hours so the developers there have had to strategise by changing working hours in an effort to meet the schedule for completing the roof and delivering it to Jamaica on time.
Avichai Menelson, project manager for Ashtrom Building Systems - the Israeli company which is redeveloping Sabina Park - divulged that information following an inspection of the facility by officials from the International Cricket Council (ICC), Jamaica Cricket 2007 Limited, the Local Organising Committee (LOC) for next year's tournament and the media yesterday afternoon.
Working overtime
Explaining the situation, he said: "We have sub-contracted the structural canopy to an Israeli sub-contractor in the city of Haifa. 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.
The deadline for Sabina Park to be completed is November 30 this year and Menelson, whose company has worked 24-hour shifts to get back on schedule after being off target earlier this year due to cement shortage and other reasons, expressed confidence for a timely delivery of the venue.
"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," he said.
Very complex
Commenting on the structure itself, 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."
