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Cape Town - The South African government will have spent R11.5 billion ($1.2 billion) on stadium construction by the time the city hosts the 2010 World Cup, according to Finance Minister Trevor Manuel, who also announced an additional cash injection for transport infrastructure.

One of Britain's most senior policemen, Metropolitan Police commissioner Paul Stephenson, visited Cape Town's Green Point stadium to check on security measures, as taxi drivers staged violent protests against government plans for a rapid bus transit system for the World Cup and beyond.

Presenting his annual budget to parliament, Manuel said the central government would allocate an additional R463 million ($48 million) to the stadium building program.

Initial fears that stadiums would not be ready on time have eased. Semi-final venue Cape Town, long plagued by the most problems, says its 68,000-seat stadium will be ready in December, and on Tuesday started raising huge cables to support the roof.

Stadiums in Johannesburg, which will host the opening and final matches, are on schedule, as is semi-final host Durban.

But costs have escalated beyond the budget, imposing a huge strain on local authorities struggling to provide decent housing and sanitation to millions of poor South Africans still suffering from the legacy of apartheid.

Manuel promised additional funding to cities hosting both this year's Confederation's Cup and the main event next year.

"The hosting of the FIFA World Cup will be more than an opportunity to watch the world's best football players first hand," he said. "For us it’s about the infrastructure. It's not just about the stadiums, it's about how cities function and we will put an emphasis on the durable parts of the infrastructure."

Manuel promised an additional grant of R12 billion ($1.1 billion) over the next three years to construct and improve existing public transport infrastructure, including bus rapid transit systems which are meant to ease congestion and whisk South Africans and visiting fans around the city.

In total, the government is spending more than R160 billion ($15.8 billion) on transport in the five year period until 2011, saying it will help overcome apartheid era transport planning when different races had different transport facilities. The country wants to buy more than 1,300 buses to transport fans and officials but its scheme to overhaul the minibus taxi industry - the transport backbone for many South Africans - is not going as smoothly as hoped.

Minibus taxi drivers staged protests Wednesday against Cape Town's proposed bus transit system which they fear threatens their livelihood. Commuters faced long delays and there were numerous reports of taxi drivers stoning city buses. One caller to a local radio station said two school buses carrying handicapped children were stoned, leaving the children traumatized and covered in glass.

Cape Town authorities closed two medical clinics in the worst affected areas because staff couldn't get to work. The city blamed the violence on a minority of drivers and said police would clamp down hard.

There were an undisclosed number of arrests and 20 people reportedly received minor injuries.

In his budget, Manuel said the government would put an additional 21,600 police on the beat over the next three years, bringing the total to 204,000 to boost security for the World Cup and try to cut South Africa's notoriously violent crime and rampant theft.