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.