Despite Inkatha Freedom Party leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi's attempts to get the Constitutional Court to force the government to grant a visa to the Dalai Lama, the saga surrounding last month's 2010-themed peace conference looks to be dead and buried.

Nevertheless, there have been some interesting developments over the past few days which highlight the extraordinary influence China now wields in this region, particularly with the tight deadlines necessitated by the 2010 World Cup.

Mozambique this week signed a $75 million contract with China's Anhui Foreign Construction Group to renovate Maputo International Airport ahead of the World Cup.

With the world famous Kruger National Park and 2010 host city Nelspruit (Mbombela) just a hop away, Mozambique is determined to make the most of the opportunities presented by 2010. The Chinese have also injected $60m to construct a stadium in Mozambique which hopes to attract Portuguese-speaking teams in 2010.

Elsewhere, other Chinese funded stadium projects are nearing completion. The renovation of Harare's 60 000-seater National Sports Stadium is on track with phase one completed.

The stadium will be used for this weekend's Independence celebrations. The Mandela National Stadium in Uganda is also being refurbished to enable it to host 2010 World Cup warm-up games early next year. China provided a $36m loan and work on the 40 000-seater facility is expected to be completed by next March.

On a recent visit to China, KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sibusiso Ndebele told the Beijing Olympics Organising Committee that the host of the world's next mega sporting event looked to China ‘to learn from your experiences...your pitfalls, your challenges.’ Clearly, it’s a responsibility that China is taking seriously.

  • Email Craig at sport@metropolis.co.za with a comment or simply post a message below!
  • 'Inside 2010' will appear weekly on iafrica.com, so log on next week for more inside info ahead of SA's biggest tournament to date.
  • Urquhart is a former FIFA World Cup Media Officer and the current editor of Project2010.
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