Jones: Shipping Authorities must prepare for ICC World Cup 2007

The Caribbean Shipping Association has been advised to ready its members to handle a significant increase in shipping traffic to and within the region because of the ICC Cricket World Cup in 2007.

Noting that an estimated US$250 million of stadium construction will be taking place as the Caribbean prepares to host ICC Cricket World Cup 2007, cricket’s showpiece event, Senior Legal Counsel Derek Jones told the audience at the organisation’s recent annual general meeting at the Barbados Hilton in Bridgetown that approximately US$100 million of stadium construction components will be shipped into the region during the next 17 months.{{more}}

“We will need a variety of material in order to meet the requirements of the Event, especially the infrastructure. We will need steel, seats, scoreboards, roofing systems, electronics, elevators, audio systems, turnstiles and security systems,” said Jones, also highlighting related areas which will be heavily dependent on shipping timeliness.

“On top of stadium construction, there will be improvements in the national infrastructure of Host Venue countries in time for the ICC Cricket World Cup in 2007. Airports, marinas, hotels are all going to undergo major work.

“Increased shipping capability – above and beyond the norm – will be crucial in the push to complete all of these undertakings in a timely fashion.”

When the tournament proper starts, he continued, hotels and bed-and-breakfast accommodations will be packed to capacity, thus necessitating that restaurants, tourist destinations and shops be stocked better than ever.