T

he government is expected to accelerate preparation work for the 2018 Asian Games after the much-needed but delayed presidential instructions are issued early next week.

Youth and Sports Minister Imam Nahrawi revealed on Friday that the President had signed the instructions regarding the games'€™ buildup, which would provide the legal umbrella for relevant institutions, including the Youth and Sports Ministry, to kick-start their work.

The presidential instructions are also expected to prevent possible overlaps among involved institutions.

'€œMost likely, we will receive the instruction by next Monday or Tuesday,'€ said Imam after signing a memorandum of understanding with the Creative Economy Agency (Bekraf) regarding a revision of the games'€™ mascot.

The sports ministry and Public Works and Public Housing Ministry are among the institutions to be handed the authority to help prepare for the quadrennial multi-sport event.

The public works ministry will be authorized to build and renovate sports venues at Bung Karno sports complex in Senayan, South Jakarta, which will be the central sporting showpiece, as well as building an athletes'€™ village.

The ministry recently disclosed its plan to renovate 14 sports venues expected to be completed in June 2017. Among the venues, Bung Karno stadium and several swimming pools will undergo major uplifts.

The sports ministry has decided to work with Bekraf in hosting a competition for a new design of the games mascot following public criticism of the already launched mascot, which is said to be old-fashioned and lacking in creativity. The new mascot must carry a message of '€œEnergy of Asia'€. The competition is open to the public.

The games will run from Aug. 18 to Sept. 2, 2018, in Jakarta and Palembang, South Sumatra, featuring 36 sports. The two cities also co-hosted the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in 2011.

Indonesia was appointed host during the 17th Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea, in September 2014 after Hanoi withdrew as the host because of financial problems.

A year after being appointed host, Indonesia received criticism for slow progress in its preparations, prompting rumors that the games might go elsewhere. Guangzhou, which hosted the event in 2010, was reported to be a potential replacement.

Concerns have also arisen whether soccer can go ahead as one of the sports competed in at the games, given that Indonesia is currently banned from international competition as a result of the conflict between the sports ministry and the national soccer governing body the PSSI.

Another potential blow to the preparations came from the city administration.

Jakarta Governor Basuki '€œAhok'€ Tjahaja Purnama, controversially commented that Jakarta was not ready for the big event. His frustrations resulted from lawmakers'€™ objections to his plan to build the athletes'€™ village in the Kemayoran area.

In a meeting in Jakarta last December, the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) urged the government to accelerate the preparation work.

With the presidential instructions soon to be issued, sports ministry spokesman Gatot S. Dewa Broto said the games infrastructure was expected to be completed by July 2017.

'€œTherefore, athletes will be allowed to have their training sessions at the venues between July 2017 and July 2018,'€ Gatot said.