Govt mum on IBC details

Johannesburg, 25 Jul 2007

The City of Johannesburg has pipped Cape Town to the post in the final dash to host the 2010 World Cup international broadcasting centre (IBC).

However, government refuses to divulge details before an official announcement is made.

Efforts to obtain information regarding possible tenders, timelines and processes surrounding the construction of the IBC have been unsuccessful, as none of the government departments involved are willing to talk.

Department of Communications spokesman Albi Modise also refuses to comment on whether there is tension surrounding the official announcement of further developments concerning the IBC.

He says there is "necessary co-operation" between the departments that have a stake in the 2010 World Cup, such as the departments of sports and culture and communications.

Yesterday, government announced Cabinet approved the Local Organising Committee's (LOC's) recommendation that Johannesburg host the IBC, and media reports indicate the project would see R1 billion spent on the centre.

Government would also not comment on the exact location of the IBC, saying the Department of Sports and Culture would make an announcement in due course. The City of Johannesburg previously stated the IBC would be based at Nasrec, south of the city.

Government's technology budget for the 2010 games is estimated at R5 billion. The Department of Communications would not confirm whether this budget has been finalised.

Modise says the budget for the IBC will depend on whether the site to be used already has some infrastructure that can be integrated into the project, or whether construction will take place on open land.

Change of plan

Modise says the IBC will be designed in close consultation with the host broadcaster, the South African Broadcasting Corporation, which has the right of approval over the construction, layout and organisation.

The IBC will house the host broadcaster's main office and broadcasting facilities, as well as those of other broadcasters and media, as determined by FIFA and the LOC, he says.

At the time of SA's bid to host the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the proposed media centre, from where journalists would file stories, was also to be housed at the IBC.

"The LOC has since decided that this facility will be replaced by expanded services at the stadium media centres and a briefing room accommodating up to 200 persons within the IBC," he says. The media centre will now be hosted off-site.

The IBC will also house the master control room (MCR), which receives incoming signals from the 10 stadiums and other "non-venue" sites, and from general telecom interfaces such as fibre optic networks connecting to the satellite downlink. The MCR is used to monitor and distribute signals to broadcasting partners in the IBC.

Plans are also under way to build a second teleport, at the IBC's satellite farm, to provide reliable broadcast infrastructure backup.