games organizer says hockey field funds ready

JAKARTA (JP): The 19th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games organizing committee is ready to pay for the halted construction of a synthetic carpet hockey field at the Senayan sports complex.

The committee's treasurer, Setya Novanto, who is also the National Sports Council treasurer, said yesterday the problem over the payment of Rp 1.2 billion (US$461,540) was administrative and was solved yesterday.

"It's just an administrative problem because the Indonesian Hockey Association had not inform us of the progress of the construction and the payment," he said.

The association said Monday the SEA Games consortium, PT Tata Insanimukti, had not yet paid US$12,000 for accommodation and air fares to Cyprus builder Theodore Seppos.

Seppos, who works for the appointed American company Astro Turf, has not supervised the building of the hockey field.

The National Sports Council's vice chairman, Arie Soedewo, denied Tuesday the money had not been paid.

Novanto said "the hockey body had to report to me and I would have asked the consortium for the money. But today the problem is solved and the money is expected to have its letter of credit today."

Astro Turf sent a fax dated July 25th to the consortium's treasurer, Okky Tjandrawinata, asking for the letter of credit to be amended and the $12,000.

But the Indonesian Hockey Association's chairman, Raj Kumar Singh, rejected Novanto's comments and said "the association was not involved in the construction of the hockey field."

"The association was only involved when we, together with the consortium and the association, decided what kind of carpet would be used in the venue," he said

"We guarantee Astro Turf is a very well-known company which builds good and cheap hockey fields," he said.

Astro Turf said the synthetic turf should arrive Aug. 16.

The laying of the field's asphalt will be finished in early August and the carpet will be laid two weeks after that.

It will take three weeks to lay the asphalt.

The field is expected to be ready Sept. 10.

"Our team will have only about two weeks to try the new field because participating countries will arrive early October," Singh said.

He also said centralized hockey training had not received any incentives from the consortium in two months.

"The association has to pay more than Rp 100 million to pay athletes' allowances and their accommodation," he said.

The Asian Hockey Federation's president, Sultan Azlan Shah of Malaysia, is expected to visit the field construction site Sunday. (yan)