The "major refurbishment" of Rio de Janeiro's Maracanã "was marred by millions of dollars in overbilling ahead of the 2014 World Cup," a government watchdog said, according to the AFP. The renovation of the stadium cost about $500M, "more than double the original bid." According to the Rio de Janeiro auditing court, part of the reason for this was "overbilling by the contractors" to the tune of R$211M (about $90M at '14 rates). The accusations were first aired late Sunday by Globo TV. It comes as "another kick in the teeth for Rio de Janeiro locals, who had angrily protested their city and country’s hosting of two major sporting events" -- the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics. To "learn the extent of the mismanagement of funds, while vital public services were cut, has caused further outrage." One example of overbilling was "cement bought at three times the market price." Another was the new roof, "which cost five times as much as a similar roof" on the Soccer City stadiums built in Johannesburg for the 2010 World Cup. Some services, "such as hiring of cranes, were simply billed twice." Rio prosecutors on Friday demanded that contractors Odebrecht and Andrade Gutierrez -- two "huge companies involved in a major corruption scandal at state oil company Petrobras" -- and Delta Engenharia repay some R$200M ($63M) (AFP, 3/14).
