Dispute about Olympic golf course site drags on

Construction of the Olympic golf course in Rio de Janeiro is still yet to start because of an ongoing legal dispute about the ownership of the land on the proposed site.The company disputing the ownership has won a legal battle and again asked a judge to block construction on the area. But local Olympic organizers and city officials say the dispute is not affecting the project and remain confident work will soon begin to build the course.The International Golf Federation expects construction to start around about October, but now says a possible delay wouldnt significantly disrupt preparations for test events planned for 2015.Construction hasnt started but that is not to say that work hasnt been done, IGF vice president Ty Votaw told The Associated Press. Work has begun on a number of fronts, including the course design and the clubhouse project. A number of things have already been done behind the scenes.Rio will host the first Olympic golf tournament in more than 110 years.Brazils Higher Court of Justice ruled last week that a Rio court was wrong in denying an appeal by the company disputing the ownership, meaning the case will likely drag on for several more months. The lower court will basically have to accept the companys request to send the case to a higher court, which will analyze the case from the beginning.The decision prompted the company, Elmway Participacoes, to request a temporary injunction until a final ruling is made. It had a similar request denied earlier this year.Local organizers downplayed the legal setback.Rio 2016 is confident that all deadlines for the golf course construction will be met, the local organizing committee said in a statement Thursday.The city said the current land owner, entrepreneur Pasquale Mauro, has provided all the necessary documents showing he holds the right for the area where the course will be built.Votaw said the land dispute is not a concern at this time, and reiterated that the federation has been reassured by 2016 organizers that all issues are close to being resolved.There are some final discussions between the land owner and the organizing committee, and the mayors office that are just being finalized, Votaw said. We are working closely with Rio 2016 and the land owner to resolve the issues that need to be resolved so we could move forward.Votaw acknowledges there is a need to make planning changes for every day that goes by without construction starting, but said it doesnt mean that current delays will affect the final project or the test events.