[W]ith just one press of the button the blast would take down the hewn wall and open up the 15,5km tunnel between Park station and Sandton, making one continuous conduit that has taken three years to construct.
The tunnels came from opposite directions - one was en route from the Shaft E2 site in Rosebank, while the other came from the Park station site.
Officials at the parastatal energy giant Eskom say they are confident they will not have any blackouts during the matches, which kick off on June 11 and run for one month.
But South Africans have sharp memories of nationwide power failures in January 2008, which shut down the critical mining sector, hobbled factories and left cities plunged into darkness for days.
Strain on the electricity supply eased as the global recession sapped mining orders and cut demand for power from the energy-intensive industry.
Since 2005, the HSRC's South African Social Attitudes survey has asked respondents aged 16 and older about their perceptions around next year's World Cup.
Last year the national Department of Transport asked for the inclusion of specific questions on road congestion and public transport services.
Since 2005, respondents in Cape Town have consistently identified congestion as a key concern. The Review article says that 82 percent of Cape Town residents agreed that roads would be "severely congested during the World Cup".
The city and the Sail Group, part of the consortium which is to manage the stadium, are trying to hold a mass event which will fill the stadium but be gentle on the turf - so are considering a cultural or religious event.
It is hoped that the final full dress rehearsal will be a mass prayer gathering. It will aim to fill the stadium to capacity.
This will be the final chance to test access and egress routes for the 68 000-strong crowd - as well as everything else from the public address system and lights to turn-styles and barcode scanners.
Deputy Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba outlined the new policy in Johannesburg yesterday, at the regional launch of the United Nations Development Programme 2009 Human Development Report.
Titled "Overcoming barriers; human mobility and development", the report urges all governments to regard migrants as potentially good for the development of their host and home countries.
Walker said IT growth up to 2010 will be driven by initiatives arising from the Fifa 2010 World Cup soccer tournament. Up to 2012, the engine will be government infrastructure projects.
After that, commercial demand will return when, according to the International Data Corporation, the economy will have recovered. In addition, better access to broadband will encourage new applications. And after 2013, new technology will drive the market.
The JFA had planned to use the proposed 100,000-seater waterfront Olympic stadium had Tokyo won the 2016 Olympic vote. Yokohama, venue for the 2002 World Cup final, has Japan's biggest stadium with a capacity of 70,000.
JFA president Motoaki Inukai wants Tokyo -- which did not host matches at the 2002 tournament -- to stage the World Cup final.
Despite fears that the venue will become a costly white elephant after the 2010 Fifa World Cup, the city is pushing ahead with a controversial deal with a French-South African consortium. The city hopes to receive a 30% share of the after-tax profits of the SAIL Stadefrance Operating Company.
If the operator does not make a profit, however, the city will recover just R1 a year in rent while spending millions more on maintaining the stadium. To be viable, the building will have to host between 20 and 40 events a year.
The new stewards are not security officials, but marshalls deployed to assist with the management of crowds. They do not fall under the provisions of the Private Security Regulatory Act, so do not have to be registered with a security service provider.
A 50-member delegation from Fifa and the local organising committee (LOC) inspected the five newly built stadiums over the last six days.
The team comprised experts in competition broadcasts, media operations, medical and transport logistics, and protocol.
The competitions chief for the LOC, Dereck Blanckensee, said preparations were on track for all stadiums to be completed within the first quarter of 2010.
"The decision is based on two factors, the world economic situation and the investment needs in (our own) infrastructure and (that of) third parties,"' Femexfut general secretary Decio de Maria said.
The 2010 local organising committee and Fifa already have coverage for the event. It is reported that Fifa has taken out cover worth $640m (about R4.672bn) against the possible abandonment of the 2010 and 2014 World Cup finals, in South Africa and Brazil respectively.
Government has bought at least 570 of the luxury buses and they will be managed by the Passenger Rail Management Association (PRMA) and Autopax, a company that is responsible for the Translux fleet.
Ndebele said the joint venture will not only allow fans to travel "in style" but will in the long run boost the country's transport system as the buses will be sold back to the private sector after the world cup.
Alongside the proposed amendment to Section 49, government is also in the process of strengthening the Independent Complaints Directorate (ICD).
Zuma said the strengthening of this directorate is an important measure to ensure that changes to Section 49 are not abused, adding that legislation to this effect will be introduced in due course.