'€œToday, the executive body of the OCA officially declares that the 2018 Asian Games will be held in Jakarta, Indonesia,'€ OCA president Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah said on Friday as quoted by Antara news agency.

Previously, the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi was slated to host the 18th games, but it pulled out in April as Vietnam could no longer financially sustain the cost of holding the games.

The event was also originally scheduled to take place in 2019, but due to Jakarta being named the host city, the games were pushed forward to 2018 due to presidential elections taking place the following year.

'€œAfter the General Assembly, we will discuss whether the OCA'€™s executive body will rubber stamp the decision to reward Jakarta with venue rights on Saturday, at the committee'€™s plenary meeting,'€ said the official.

Indonesian officials had previously said that the Asian Games would require the construction of new sporting venues and an athlete'€™s village, costing around US$150 million.

Jakarta hosted the Asian Games back in 1962, which led to the creation of the Senayan Sporting Complex.

In terms of sporting infrastructure, Jakarta has begun the construction of new sporting venues such as the planned BMW Stadium in North Jakarta, which is targeted for completion in 2017.

The 2014 Asian Games is currently taking place in Incheon, South Korea. (dyl/nfo)(++++)

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