Thursday, December 7, 2006

KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS): Minister of Information and Development, Donald Buchanan, has said that Jamaica is 85 per cent ready for the staging of the Cricket World Cup 2007.

The benchmark used to determine the level of preparedness is the post venue agreement between the government and the International Cricket Council (ICC).

Buchanan, who was addressing Monday’s post Cabinet press briefing, said that information from the Local Organising Committee (LOC) indicated that work was on schedule at Sabina Park in Kingston and Greenfield in Trelawny.

In addition, he said, preparations were advanced with respect to practice venues, media facilities, security arrangements and the sale of tickets for warm-up and group matches, “but more particularly, (for) the semi-finals…there is almost a full sell out of tickets for the event”.

Meanwhile, JAMPRO, which is working with the LOC with respect to the staging of the matches in Jamaica, has established a Secretariat headed by Robert Stephens, to promote Jamaica’s legacy and business strategies.

“This Secretariat has already identified some 100 projects and 25 events, which they are in consultation and discussions with the private sector in terms of attracting private sector participation,” Buchanan said.

The Information Minister pointed out that the opening ceremony in Trelawny, would give the Caribbean a tremendous opportunity to showcase its culture. “This is going to be a spectacular event, with some 12,000 people minimum in attendance,” he indicated.

“The opening ceremony is going to be watched by some 8 to 9 million people across the globe and therefore will be showcasing Jamaica to an extent that maybe we have never experienced before,” he added.

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