TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Host Indonesia urged to pick up pace of preparations
Indonesia has been urged to increase its efforts in response to Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) warnings about its âslowâ progress in preparing to host the Asian Games in 2018
Change Size
I
ndonesia has been urged to increase its efforts in response to Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) warnings about its 'slow' progress in preparing to host the Asian Games in 2018.
'The OCA's concern is mainly due to our failure to begin construction and renovation works that were supposed to have started by the end of this year at the latest,' Indonesian Olympic Committee (KOI) president Erick Thohir told The Jakarta Post on Monday.
'The OCA is sending the message that it wants to see some works started by February or March next year,' he said.
The message, according to Erick, should prompt the country to speed up its efforts, particularly in the construction and renovation of infrastructure and games venues.
One of the main issues is the construction of an athletes' village planned for Kemayoran, Central Jakarta.
The construction, which was initially expected to begin in September, is now facing a stumbling block due to opposition from lawmakers.
The Jakarta administration, which is responsible for the project, is still waiting for the State Secretariat to hand over an 11-hectare plot of land in Kemayoran in order to begin the project. Lawmakers at the House of Representatives Commission II that oversees regional autonomy has rejected the handover, saying that the land is an asset of the state.
Another pending project is the renovation of the Bung Karno Sports complex in Senayan, Central Jakarta, which is also involved in issues with the State Secretariat.
Erick said that a presidential instruction from President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo would solve the problem.
On Sunday, Indonesia presented the OCA with the latest report regarding its preparation for the 2018 games.
After the meeting, OCA director of the Asian Games Department Haider Farman expressed his concerns about Indonesia's slow progress in preparing for the quadrennial event, which is scheduled to be held in Jakarta and Palembang between Aug. 18 and Sept. 2 in 2018.
According to Farman, the OCA acknowledges that Indonesia is facing a tight timeframe to prepare, given the fact that it was appointed as the host only in September last year.
However, he suggested the host country immediately start the necessary work in order to show the committee some signs of progress.
'According to the report that we've received, the Indonesian organizing committee will settle all [the paper work] by January [2016]. Hopefully, we will see that in reality,' he said.
Jakarta Governor Basuki 'Ahok' Tjahaja Purnama previously claimed that the slow progress had led China to express its readiness to replace Indonesia as the host nation, should the latter be unable to fulfill its duties.
'Here's what you've got to understand. China clearly doesn't want to waste all the sports facilities that it has. You know that China will bid for every possible sports event,' Erick said.
'That's because they are aware that sports aren't just sports. These days, sports mean promotion for the host country, business deals and tourism.'
'Indonesia has the fourth-largest population in the world and is a member of the G20, and the last time we hosted the Asian Games was in 1962? Come on. [The 2018 event] is a great opportunity for us. Let's not waste it,' he said.
