Regional businesses and entrepreneurs will have a unique opportunity to provide a wide-ranging variety of equipment and supplies for ICC Cricket World Cup 2007 through the Central Procurement Programme (CPP). The Event's size and magnitude necessitate the acquisition of myriad "temporary elements" such as certain types of stadium seats, video replay boards, trailers, public address systems and security equipment which ICC Cricket World Cup 2007 Inc, through the Local Organising Committees, will be leasing or renting in bulk for the nine Host Venues. The CPP, says Venue Development Director Donald Lockerbie, will ensure the Host Venues enjoy discounts which would otherwise be unavailable to countries on an individual basis. Currently a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) is being advertised in regional newspapers and on the Event website www.cricketworldcup.com, offering Caribbean businesses another avenue from which to benefit from ICC Cricket World Cup 2007 if they are selected to supply any of the required items. "The CPP is nothing new to world games. The Olympics, FIFA World Cup and other major events always do this because of the enormity of construction programmes and budgets," Lockerbie said. "In this case, more than US$260 million is already being spent on permanent stadiums across the Caribbean - the legacy components - but events such as the ICC Cricket World Cup have additional requirements which are generally met with temporary measures," he elaborated. Reprinted from jamaicaobserver.com