When Brazil drafted plans to host the upcoming World Cup, Natal "was exactly the type of city it wanted to show off," according to Paulo Prada of REUTERS. A nationwide economic boom was transforming the once-sleepy backwater into a fast-growing city typical of the new Brazil, "a country at last poised to make its long-promised leap into the first world." The first challenge "was the new stadium." FIFA "required an arena for at least 42,000 spectators" -- 10 times the average for routine Natal games. Local officials "decided to demolish the existing stadium and build anew." They "hired architects and calculated a cost" of $180M for the new arena. When they sought bids for the job in '10, though, contractors said that it could not "be built for that price." The federal government, meanwhile, "agreed to finance an airport." The city, for its part, "agreed to improve traffic and drainage near the stadium." But "the promise of six new tunnels and two new viaducts stalled." Locals "pressed then-mayor Micarla de Sousa for results." Regardless, Natal by '13 "had little city work underway." Current Natal Mayor Carlos Eduardo Alves, the incumbent, said that "he revamped the plans" and finally began $290B worth of construction early this year. He said that "most of the ongoing work will be completed, or cleaned up, by showtime." Across Brazil, especially its 12 Cup venues, "locals are lamenting high costs, delays and stillborn investments." Sinaenco, a trade group of engineers and architects, said that nationwide, "only 36 of 93 major projects are complete" (REUTERS, 5/18).
