Portugal's security preparations for the Euro 2004 finals, faulted by a number of top officials as being incomplete just nine-months from the big kick-off, will be ready on time, Interior Minister Antonio Figueiredo Lopes has said.

"Acquisitions of new security equipment will be completed by the end of the year because during the first few months of 2004 they need to be used in police training," he told reporters Friday following a conference on the theme of violence in sports.

"Changes to the legal code will also be adopted on time," he added.

The government has set aside 3.5 million euros (four million dollars) to buy water canons, batons, riot gear and other security equipment for the police, and has drawn up plans to set up round-the-clock courts that will have the power to quickly extradite potential troublemakers, in order to prepare for the football finals.

The minister was speaking just one day after the chairman of a parliamentary committee overseeing Euro 2004 preparations said the 10 new stadiums being built or renovated for the event still did not have adequate security material.

"What we have seen is that there is a lack of visible security apparatus both inside and outside of the stadiums, there is no control, and entry points are confusing," Laurentino Dias told Radio Renascenca on Thursday.

The head of Portugal's main police association meanwhile has warned the country does not have enough officers to guarantee the safety of the three million people who are expected to visit the nation during the championship, which will take place from June 12 to July 4.

Alberto Torres, the president of ASPP which represents Portugal's 22,000 police officers, told a news conference on Wednesday Portugal's cash-strapped police force needs 3,000 more officers to comfortably provide security during the tournament.

Portugal, one of Europe's poorest nations, is spending some 800 million euros to build seven new state-of-the-art stadiums and renovate three others for the tournament, the biggest international sports event ever held in the country.

The government is betting that the European football finals, the largest sporting event after the Olympics and the World Cup, will lead to a substantial tourism boost.