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Doubts emerge about Indonesia's preparedness for Asian Games 2018
A man works at a construction site for the athletes' village in Jakabaring Sports Center in Palembang, South Sumatra, on Dec
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A man works at a construction site for the athletes' village in Jakabaring Sports Center in Palembang, South Sumatra, on Dec. 10. The government has fast-tracked the construction of competition and non-competition venues to be completed in 2016 in ample time for the 2018 Asian Games. (Antara/Feny Selly) (Antara/Feny Selly)
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span class="inline inline-center">A man works at a construction site for the athletes' village in Jakabaring Sports Center in Palembang, South Sumatra, on Dec. 10. The government has fast-tracked the construction of competition and non-competition venues to be completed in 2016 in ample time for the 2018 Asian Games. (Antara/Feny Selly)
With less than three years to go to the Asian Games 2018, incomplete technical and non-technical preparations have raised concerns about Indonesia's readiness for the major sports event.
Muddai Madang, vice president of the Indonesian Olympic Committee (KOI), said he feared the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) could cancel Indonesia's role as a host country in the Asian Games. He slammed the Jakarta administration for not having started the tender process for cooperation contracts.
"The OCA has given us the yellow light. The Jakarta administration as the primary host, who is in charge of building competition venues, has not yet opened tenders, although the timing is tight," he said as quoted by news agency Antara on Monday.
The OCA had requested that Indonesia begin the construction of venues ' both for competitions and related purposes ' no later than January, he explained.
KOI president Erick Thohir admitted to Indonesia's lack of preparation for the event. He urged the acceleration of renovation work at Bung Karno Stadium (GBK) and the construction of athletes' accommodation.
"It will be unfortunate if we don't take advantage of this event. It is not merely a sports event, but it also involves the nation's reputation, as state guests will also attend," he said.
Meanwhile, Sports Minister Imam Nahrawi claimed the preparations were making progress as the ministry had received a master plan for the event from the KOI, which contained the details of Indonesia's role as a host.
"The preparation of the Asian Games is so far so good and in accordance with our plan," he said, adding that the government would soon report to the OCA on the details, such as funding and acceleration of constructions of the athletes' village and other venues, such as a velodrome, an aquatics center, as well as the renovation of GBK.
Sylviana Murni, an advisor to the Jakarta administration on culture and tourism, said the city was in the process of coordination for the possible venues to be used for the Asian Games.
The Jakarta administration also planned to build an athletes' village in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta.
President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has urged all related parties to accelerate preparations for the 2018 Asian Games. He ordered all areas involved in the event -- Jakarta, Palembang, Banten and West Java -- to get organized, so that there would be no more obstacles hampering the process in 2016. (cal/rin)(+)
