Asian Games organizers to slash budget by quarter

Asian Games organizers to slash budget by quarter

BANGKOK (AFP): The organizers of the 1998 Asian Games in
Bangkok will cut their budget by a quarter because of Thailand's
economic slowdown, a report said yesterday.

The Bangkok Asian Games Organizing Committee is slashing its
organizing budget by 26 percent, from 3.05 billion baht (US$78.2
million) to 2.25 billion baht, the Bangkok Post said.

The cuts would focus on unnecessary items and programs and
would not affect the quality of the Games to be staged in the
Thai capital in December 1998, a committee executive was quoted
as saying.

Plans to fly representatives of all 47 participating countries
to Bangkok to receive their invitations to the Games would be one
of the events to be axed, the report said.

Thailand is mired in its worst economic crisis in decades,
which has added to its woes in staging the Games. Earlier this
year, Bangkok risked losing the games because of infighting among
the organizers.

However, last month, the technical chief of the Olympic
Council of Asia visited Bangkok and reported that he was
satisfied with progress in preparations of the Games.