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Minister
of Information and Development, Donald Buchanan,
has said that the country was 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).
Mr.
Buchanan, who was addressing yesterday's (Dec. 4)
post Cabinet press briefing at Jamaica House, said
that information from the Local Organizing Committee
(LOC) indicate 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," Mr.
Buchanan informed.
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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