Rio’s Olympic stadium to remain closed for 18 months

PanARMENIAN.Net - Officials in Rio de Janeiro have said a recently-built stadium that will be used at the 2016 Olympics will remain closed for 18 months while the roof is repaired, BBC News reported.

A committee of engineers said it had found a number of problems, including broken and twisted supports.

The Joao Havelange stadium was closed in March after it emerged that the roof could collapse in high winds.

It was opened late only six years ago at a cost of about $200m (£128m).

The Rio authorities had seen it as a legacy project for the city.

But a team of engineers concluded in a report that the project for the construction of the stadium had presented "structural errors" from the start.

"It is a flaw which is related to the way the project was conceived," said Sebastiao Andrade, a professor of engineering at Rio de Janeiro's Catholic University (PUC), who contributed to the study.

"There is a need to reinforce the roof's structure so the stadium can be used, taking into consideration the proper requirements of safety," he told journalists in Rio.