President pens Sriwijaya stadium

President Megawati Soekarnoputri inaugurated the Sriwijaya Stadium in Palembang, South Sumatra, on Saturday.

The stadium will be used as the venue for the opening ceremony of the 16th National Games (PON), which will run from Sept. 2 to Sept. 16, with the participants expected to come from all of the country's 31 provinces.

The 40,000-capacity stadium, whose construction began in 2000 on a 52,000 square meter site in the Jakabaring sports compound, cost Rp 104 billion.

Megawati, who was accompanied by husband Taufik Kiemas and South Sumatra Governor Syahrial Oesman, said that the stadium should encourage local people to play more sport, even after the games. -- JP