Pretoria – With improved stadia, better roads and a brand new bus transport system destined for the Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality, the 2010 FIFA World Cup will definitely leave its mark on the city.

“We are fast tracking economic growth in the city, with our current economic growth at about 6 percent.

“We are doubling our road infrastructure expenditure next year … attracting investors to the city, creating jobs and improving the lives of the people,” said Executive Mayor of Tshwane, Gwen Ramokgopa, on Thursday.

The mayor was speaking at an informal meeting organised by the World Cup Local Organising Committee (LOC) aimed at updating the media on preparations for the world cup.

Investment in the city is taking place in a number of sectors, but in the motor industry especially, said the mayor, with big names such as BMW, Daimler Chrysler, Tata and Ford operating in the city.

Ford, she said, has recently invested more than a billion Rand in its facilities and production capabilities in the Tshwane Metro.

Changes are already taking place in and around the city ahead of the world cup and projects include a R100 million initiative to widen roads around the main stadium, Loftus Versfeld.

Also, roads are being widened around practice stadia in townships, and R1.9 billion has been set aside for establishing the Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) system.

The BRT system involves establishing a dedicated bus lane which will run from the outskirts of the city to the Central Business District (CBD) as well as to the east of the city – improving travel times for commuters.

The Gautrain Rapid Rail Link is another initiative which will cut the time taken to travel between Pretoria and Johannesburg to less than 35 minutes travelling at speeds of 160km or more.

Apart from relieving some congestion on the road between the two cities – the N1 - it will also offer provide a stimulus for economic and social development along Gauteng’s north-south axis.

“The first phase of the BRT will be ready for 2010 and is one of the city’s key legacy projects. We have just bought 100 new buses and another 200 new buses are on their way,” said the mayor.

A number of changes are also being made to Loftus Versfeld in order to upgrade it to FIFA standards.

These upgrades include building a pavilion on the stadiums eastern side, building a state-of-the-art media centre, and improving the pitch.

R500 million, she said, will be spent on upgrading the practice stadia around the city.

Head of Communications for the LOC Tim Modise told reporters about R20 billion has so far been spent nationally on world cup preparations, which include R9.6 billion on transport infrastructure and R8.4 billion on stadia.

All in all, an estimated R30 billion will be spent on development ahead of the world cup, which will further be used “as a catalyst for development,” said Mr Modise.

Also in attendance at the event was Brazil’s Ambassador to South Africa, José Vicente de Sá Pimentel, and Italy’s First Secretary for its Commercial office, J Martino.

Dr Ramokgopa in describing the Tshwane Metro once said: “Tshwane does not have the sea like Cape Town, nor Gold like Johannesburg to attract visitors and investors, but it does have the highest concentration of intellectual capital in the country.”

The Tshwane Metro’s local economy is based on the manufacturing and services industries.

Between 1995 and 1997 the city’s annual growth rate was 1.7 percent compared to 6 percent in 2007. – BuaNews