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Jakarta Post

Many hurdles left to jump before city is ready

Indonesia is getting set to host the 18th Asian Games in 2018, with the quadrennial tournament scheduled to kick off on Aug

Dewanti A. Wardhani (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Thu, August 27, 2015

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Many hurdles left to jump before city is ready

I

ndonesia is getting set to host the 18th Asian Games in 2018, with the quadrennial tournament scheduled to kick off on Aug. 18 and end on Sept. 2. Jakarta, the main host, will see the opening ceremony, while Palembang in South Sumatra and Bandung in West Java will play supporting roles.

However, Governor Basuki '€œAhok'€ Tjahaja Purnama has acknowledged that the city is far from ready for the Games, with many infrastructure projects remaining incomplete.

'€œWe'€™re not ready yet. We only have GBK right now,'€ Ahok told reporters at City Hall on Wednesday.

GBK, short for Gelora Bung Karno, is a large sports complex in Senayan, South Jakarta, opened in 1962 to host the fourth Asian Games, the first time Indonesia hosted the event.

The city administration, Ahok said, had many venues left to renovate and construct and much infrastructure to develop before 2018.

'€œWe will begin construction of an athlete'€™s village soon. The groundbreaking will take place in September,'€ he said.

The athlete'€™s village will be constructed on an 11-hectare plot of land in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta, and will be developed by city-owned developer PT Jakarta Propertindo (Jakpro). The village will consist of various facilities for the athletes, such as dorms and training spots.

Previously, the development of the athletes'€™ village had been hampered by land ownership problems in Kemayoran. The city administration officially acquired the land from the State Secretariat earlier this month.

'€œWe will also begin construction of one line of the LRT [light rail transit] system early next year. The line will accommodate athletes traveling to and from Kemayoran and Soekarno-Hatta International Airport,'€ the governor said.

In 2016, Jakarta is required to file a report with the Olympic Council of Asia on the progress of preparations for the Games.

Separately, governor'€™s assistant on culture and tourism Sylviana Murni said that the city would speed up preparations to ensure all projects related to the Games were finished by 2017.

The city administration, Sylviana said, would carry out minor renovations on a number of sport halls, including Britama Sports Hall in Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta, as well sports halls in Ancol, North Jakarta, and Pulo Mas, East Jakarta. She added that the city administration would make major refurbishments to the Velodrome Sports Hall in Rawamangun, East Jakarta, with a budget of Rp 475 billion (US$33.6 million).

'€œWe will speed up preparations as ordered by President Joko Widodo. We aim to finish all projects by the end of 2017 so that there is no more physical construction in 2018,'€ Sylviana told reporters at City Hall on Wednesday.

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