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Japan govt slashes stadium cost by US$1.27b
The Japan government decided Friday on a new construction plan for the new National Stadium that limits the number of spectator seats to 68,000 and keeps construction costs to 155 billion yen (US$1
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he Japan government decided Friday on a new construction plan for the new National Stadium that limits the number of spectator seats to 68,000 and keeps construction costs to 155 billion yen (US$1.27 billion), a sharp drop from the original plan.
An international competition to choose the stadium's design, architect and builders is expected to be held in November. The government is aiming to complete the stadium, which will serve as the main venue for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, by the end of April 2020.
The new plan was decided at a meeting of related ministers chaired by Toshiaki Endo, the state minister for the 2020 Games, at the Prime Minister's Office on Friday morning.
'We achieved significant cost cutting. Now we need to ensure the stadium's construction is completed in time for the 2020 event,' Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said at the meeting.
The new plan's total construction cost, which has been the main focus of attention, is down 110 billion yen from the original 265.1 billion yen. The original figure included the 252 billion yen that had been announced under the old plan and other, undisclosed expenses.
In giving up the main feature of the initial design ' the two gigantic arches that would support the roof ' and building a smaller roof that only covers the upper part of the stands, the new plan cuts the construction cost for the roof to 23.8 billion yen, down from the initial 95 billion yen.
The number of spectator seats during the Games will also be reduced by 4,000 from the initial 72,000, but the new plan still satisfies the requirement set by the International Olympic Committee for main stadiums to have a capacity of about 60,000.
To satisfy the requirement for football World Cup stadiums to have a capacity of at least 80,000, a further 12,000 seats can be added to the section that will be occupied by the athletics track during the Games.
Construction of a sports museum and outdoor observation passage have also been eliminated from the plan, while facilities such as a luxurious lounge and VIP seats will be kept but minimised.
With plans to downsize underground parking lots and other facilities, the total area of the new stadium will be 194,500 square meters, about 13 percent less than the original plan.
The stadium will be a facility exclusively for sports events in principle, but it will also be able to function as an evacuation point for local residents during disasters and other large-scale emergencies.
The government was divided over whether to install air-conditioning in the spectator area ' at an estimated cost of about 10 billion yen' until the final stages of the decision. Ultimately, it decided against it at the direction of Abe, who called for a further reduction of the stadium's total cost.
'Air conditioners are installed in only two stadiums around the world, and they can only cool temperatures by 2 degree Celsius or 3 degree Celsius,' Endo said at a press conference.
Because the International Olympic Committee has asked the government to complete the stadium by the end of January 2020, 'we'll strive to shorten the construction period, in the hope of finishing by the end of January,' Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said at a press conference. (++++)
