BPGS sets ambitious target following its name change
BPGS sets ambitious target following its name change
JAKARTA (JP): The Gelora Senayan Management Board (BPGS) set
an ambitious target for the next five years following President
Abdurrahman Wahid's decision on Sunday to rename the Senayan
Sports Complex as Bung Karno Sports Complex.
"We expect the sports complex to fulfill the requirements for
international multisports events such as the Asian Games in five
years to come," chairman of the Gelora Senayan Executive
Directors (DPGS) Yasidi Hambali told The Jakarta Post on Monday
at his office.
"The State Secretary has approved BPGS' 2001-2005 five-year
plan to up-grade the sports complex to reach this target."
Indonesia withdrew its plan to bid for the 2006 Asian Games
host, which was later won by Qatar, due to its lack of world-
class sports venues.
Senayan hosted the 1962 Asian Games, the first ever, thanks to
Indonesia's first president Sukarno who initiated the complex's
construction in 1958.
Yasidi said BPGS expected the complex to be able to host half
of the sports featured in international multisports events.
"We expect to stage some 16 to 18 sports in the complex. In
the 1997 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, the complex housed 18 of 34
sports being staged."
"The sports complex is set to hold Olympic sports such as
track and field, gymnastics, soccer and swimming. But other
specific sports, such as canoeing and equestrian, have to be
staged outside the complex."
In 2001, BPGS will concentrate on renovating the Senayan
Stadium, which has been suffering acute inundation in several
sections during heavy rains.
"We will work on the stadium's infrastructure, especially its
sewerage system which needs to be improved. So far, leakages at
the billiard and squash venues have been fixed," said Yasidi.
"Another technical problem is the Senayan Stadium's second and
third floors which are not waterproof. Perhaps the Russian
engineers, who built the stadium, didn't anticipate heavy
rainfall here almost all-year long," he added, while pointing to
spectators' lack-of-discipline as another cause of the leakage.
"Most of the spectators urinate on the seats. Given the
untreated floors, such behavior causes worse leakage."
"BPGS has established a cooperation with the University of
Indonesia's Engineering School and Trisakti University's
Landscape School to design a five-year development blueprint for
the sports complex."
"Using the blueprint, we can fully optimize all the venues
while at the same time retaining the open space and city forest
located here."
The Basketball Stadium is another venue to be given priority
this year while confirming there are no plans to build new
venues.
In the long term, Yasidi said BPGS would upgrade the Senayan
Swimming Pool into an integrated aquatic center.
"The International Swimming Federation (FINA) has certified
that the main pool has met international standards. But we still
have to install sensitive touch panels and an advanced scoring
board."
"BPGS will open the possibility for an electronic sign board
producer to install a scoring board in a long term barter or win-
win arrangement. This will reduce our financial burden," he said,
adding that the scoring board could cost up to Rp 1 billion
(US$105,300).
Speaking on a multisports event requirement of an athletes
village, Yasidi said it was impossible for BPGS to build an
athletes' village due to its unclear future use after the event
is over without government or private sector involvement.
"We can learn from the Barcelona and Seoul experience when
hosting the Olympics by involving the private sector to build the
village."
"The developer then sold the village to the public as
apartments after the Olympics was over." (nvn)