Athletes' village project waiting for city permit<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The 19th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games
\nunderwriting consortium has failed to begin construction of a new
\nathletes' village because the city administration is yet to issue
\nthe building permit.<\/p>\n
\"We are ready to build, but we must wait for the permit,\"
\nBambang Sugomo, a consortium member, said yesterday.<\/p>\n
Bambang said the consortium has only 10 months to complete the
\nvillage, which is expected to cost the 19th SEA Games organizing
\ncommittee between US$60 million and $70 million.<\/p>\n
The village will stand on a four-hectare lot formerly used as
\na shooting range at the Senayan sports complex in Central
\nJakarta.<\/p>\n
As a comparison, organizers of the previous Games in Chiang
\nMai, Thailand needed three years to build a new village, Bambang
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Bambang, who is also the committee's deputy official for
\nhousing, said the consortium had requested a permit to build a
\nvillage which would comprise 1,000 rooms several months ago, but
\nit received no response.<\/p>\n
\"If the city administration fails to issue the permit by the
\nend of this month, I'm afraid we will have to cancel this plan,\"
\nBambang said.<\/p>\n
Arie Soedewo, vice chairman of the National Sports Council,
\nsaid the permit problems should be resolved immediately. \"We
\nagree to the plan. It will be useful to have a village which lies
\nclose to all sport venues in Senayan,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"The village will not only function during the SEA Games, but
\nit can be used for other major events in the future,\" Arie said.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian Cycling Association yesterday announced it had
\nset a target of winning half of the 16 gold medals on offer at
\nthe 19th Southeast Asian Games in Jakarta next year.<\/p>\n
Speaking after a meeting with the sports council officials,
\nthe cycling association's deputy official for athletes'
\ndevelopment, Didi Soedijanto, said Indonesia's best gold medal
\nchances were in the men's 1000-meter Individual Time Track (ITT),
\n50km ITT, 4000m Team Pursuit and either cross country or down
\nhill.<\/p>\n
In the women's division, Indonesia is likely to win the 3000m
\nIndividual Pursuit, Point Race, 25km ITT and cross country, Didi
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
National program<\/p>\n
The association will choose 25 male and eight female cyclists
\nto undergo a long-term national program, scheduled to kick off on
\nNov. 1. \"We have picked all winners in the recent National Games
\nto join the program,\" Didi said.<\/p>\n
Didi said veterans Tonton Suprapto of West Java and Nurhayati
\nof Yogyakarta remained the country's best hopes to grab medals.<\/p>\n
Indonesia brought home five gold, four silver and three bronze
\nmedals in last year's Games in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Host
\nThailand won four golds, four silvers and two bronzes.<\/p>\n
In an effort to give the team more exposure, the association
\nwill send its cyclists for an overseas stint in either Australia
\nor Italy. \"We chose the two countries because they hold many
\nnational competitions throughout the year,\" Didi said.<\/p>\n
The association also named Australian Shayne Bannan as the new
\nnational team coach.<\/p>\n
Yesterday's consultative meeting also heard reports from the
\nIndonesian Fencing Association.<\/p>\n
The fencing body's secretary-general Soerjono predicted that
\nIndonesia's would not match the six gold medals it won in 1995.<\/p>\n
Thailand won only one gold, four silvers and five bronzes at
\nhome in 1995, compared to Indonesia's six golds, four silvers and
\nfour bronzes.<\/p>\n
The decentralized training program for national fencers will
\nstart on Nov. 1. The centralized program will begin here in March
\nnext year, with only 24 male and 16 female athletes qualifying.<\/p>\n
\"After four months of training, the national fencing team will
\ntry out in Eastern Europe,\" Soerjono said.<\/p>\n
As an early preparation, the association will hire a foreign
\ncoach, probably from Eastern Europe, but Soerjono refused to
\nidentify the coach.<\/p>\n
Soerjono said the Philippines and Thailand would be
\nIndonesia's main fencing competitors. (yan)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/athletes-village-project-waiting-for-city-permit-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}