Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan says there will no hitches for athletes traveling to venues for the upcoming Asian Games.
The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) previously demanded that the travel time for athletes from the athletes village in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta, to several venues across the city should not exceed 34 minutes.
Anies said on Monday exceeding the targeted time was tolerable for several venues far from the village.
"According to them [OCA], it should not be a problem, because venues like Golf Course in Pondok Indah is too far, and the athletes will depart early in the morning. They will be ready to depart at 5:30 a.m.," he said as quoted by kompas.com.
Read also: Traffic jams biggest challenge for Asian Games
The administration recently implemented an odd-even license plate policy on major thoroughfares across the capital, but during a simulation carried out to test the travel times, the journey to the three farthest venues, namely Pondok Indah Golf Course in Pondok Indah, South Jakarta, Taman Mini Indonesia Indah (TMII) cultural park and POPKI Sport Arena, both in East Jakarta, exceeded the target.
"It's no longer a problem and we have conveyed to the [OCA] that it's not because of traffic congestion but rather because of the distance," Anies said, adding that the journey to the Gelora Bung Karno (GBK) sports complex in Central Jakarta, the main venue of the Games, would not exceed the targeted time. (fac/wit)
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