Rio Subway Project May Miss Target for Olympic Completion

(ATR) The subway line connected Barra de Tijuca and Copacabana is at "high risk" to not be completed by the 2016 Olympics.

The Court of Accounts of Rio de Janeiro labeled the project as "high risk" on Jul. 7, emphasizing the tightness of budgets placed on the project.

"For lack of planning, usually the executive projects are never ready, inevitably entailing the extension of deadlines for completion of the works", Jonas Lopes de Carvalho Junior, president of the Court of Accounts of Rio, said to AFP.

Despite the label, organizers at Rio 2016 tell Around the Rings, they "are confident all infrastructure projects will be delivered as scheduled."

The court added in a statement that construction "can no longer occur any delay in achieving the anticipated schedule for the metro extensions are in place before the start of the Olympics."

According to a report from O Globo, delays on the subway have come from building the Jardim de Alah station and its proximity to canals in the area. According to Carlos Roberto Osorio, Rio de Janeiro State Transportation Secretary, new machinery is being delivered to increase the speed of construction in the station.

"The construction schedule was tight from the beginning," Osorio told O Globo.

"This was always the scenario. It is a complex work, which will require effort and attention to the last day."

State governor Luiz Fernando Pezão remains positive that the work will be done on time.

"We will deliver everything within [the timeframe]," Pezão said to O Globo.

"We are making an immense sacrifice to keep this work [going], and this kind of news is not helpful. What is worse, it creates a very bad mood among the 9,200 workers."

Cultural Program Named

Programs for the Rio 2016 Cultural Program will start in August.

Named Celebra, celebrate in Portuguese, the program will operate under the theme of "humanizing urban space," according to the organizing committee.

"Culture is what defines a country. It is what differentiates the places that host the Games," Carla Camurati, Rio 2016’s culture director, said in a statement.

Performances, street fairs, film exhibitions, and other projects will dot the city of Rio de Janeiro in the runup and through the Olympics and Paralympics. Many of the performances will consist of "flashmobs" to surprise unsuspecting citizens of Rio, like the 500 days to go ceremony for the 2016 Paralympics.

"The whole city with be transformed into a live performances, a great stage for our cultural diversity," Camurati added.

"We are uniting forces with the city, state and federal governments.

Updated Construction Video

The City of Rio de Janeiro has released a new video showing the progress of construction in the Olympic Park.

The video is an update from the previous onereleased in January, showing the continued progress of the park:

Written by Aaron Bauer

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