T

he Jakarta administration wants to waste no time preparing for the 2018 Asian Games, which will be held in Jakarta and Palembang, South Sumatra.

Deputy governor for tourism Sylviana Murni said her team was preparing an outline of the preparations that needed to be carried out over the next four years.

'€œWe will host the TAFISA [the Association for International Sport for All] World Games in 2016 with 88 participant countries and the Asian Games in 2018, which will be attended by 45 participant countries. By then, we will need 13,000 beds, or 7,500, bedrooms to accommodate the delegates.

'€œWe will also need an athletes'€™ village, media centers and a headquarters. Many permits will also be needed,'€ Sylviana said after a meeting, adding that she would present the outline proposal during a leadership meeting next week.

TAFISA is an association that unites national associations, clubs and public institutions that focus on traditional physical activities. Since 1992, TAFISA has held quadrennial World Games under the auspices of Unesco and International Olympic Committee (IOC). The TAFISA World Games include traditional activities like wushu, Muay Thai, samba, tango and yoga.

To cope with the expected accommodation and infrastructure demands, the Jakarta administration will encourage private developers to expedite construction projects.

Sylviana said the government and the administration would also need to renovate existing sports facilities.

'€œThe OCA [Olympic Council of Asia] said that Jakarta had adequate sports facilities, but they are aging. We need to revitalize the facilities,'€ she said, adding that the city would cooperate with the government, which oversees its main sports facilities at the Gelora Bung Karno sports complex in Central Jakarta.

'€œWe are optimistic that we will get the support we need because our governor [Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo], who soon will be inaugurated as president, has promised his full support on this matter,'€ she said.

The city administration initially aimed to construct an athletes'€™ village in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta, a plan which has since been put on hold.

'€œKemayoran is under the authority of the central government. That is why we want to encourage the government to transfer the management to the city administration,'€ Sylviana said.

She added that she also proposed to invite the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK), the Jakarta Development Finance Comptroller (BPKP) and the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) to oversee the necessary big-budget infrastructure projects, so as to prevent fraudulent practices.

Deputy Governor Basuki '€œAhok'€ Tjahaja Purnama said that he would prefer to build apartments to accommodate athletes instead of an athletes'€™ village.

'€œWe would prefer apartments, so we can rent out the units. That'€™s what South Korea is doing. Each athlete pays US$50 per night. After two weeks, the athletes are gone; [the local authority] can then sell the units. One room can accommodate two athletes,'€ Ahok said.

Facilities that can be used for the Asian Games include the Gelora Bung Karno sports complex in Senayan, the Kempo Hall in Ciracas, East Jakarta, and the Judo Hall in Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta.

Jakarta also plans to renovate the Rawamangun Velodrome and build the BMW soccer stadium in North Jakarta to replace the Lebak Bulus soccer stadium in South Jakarta, which will be torn down to make way for the construction of the mass rapid transit depot and a station.

Indonesia replaced Vietnam, which was selected in 2012 for the role of host but withdrew in April due to funding problems.