SEA Games venues ready by August
JAKARTA (JP): All venues for the 19th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games here in October will be ready by the end of August, organizers said yesterday.
The organizers' venue and equipment deputy chairman, Saptodarsono, said the Senayan sports complex, which will host 18 sports, had been under renovation since November.
"All venues will be ready for the Games by the end of August," he said.
The Gelora Senayan management board is paying for the Rp 20 billion (US$8.3 million) renovation. Twenty five percent of the money is to renovate the Senayan Main Stadium, which will host the opening and closing ceremonies and the soccer final.
Archery, track and field, badminton, basketball, bodybuilding, weightlifting, judo, fencing, soccer, hockey, wrestling, tennis, squash, swimming, shooting, indoor and beach volleyball and softball will all be staged at the complex.
The Jakarta city administration is providing Rp 3 billion to renovate other venues.
Rawamangun velodrome for track cycling, Soemantri Brodjonegoro sports hall for boxing, Jakarta Gymnastics Center on Jl. Raden Inten, East Jakarta Sports Hall for sepak takraw, Bulungan Sports Hall for tae kwon do and karate and Sunter Lake for water skiing are the other venues being upgraded.
Venues in Jakarta which the city administration does not own are not getting any renovation funds.
Billiards and snooker will be at the Golden Hotel or the Jakarta Fair Ground Kemayoran, soccer at the Lebak Bulus and Kuningan stadiums, golf at the Matoa national golf and country club, pencak silat at the Pencak Silat Dormitory near Taman Mini Indonesia Indah, table tennis at the Pertamina Simpruk hall, 10- pin bowling at the Megamall Pluit, wushu at the Jakarta Fair Ground Kemayoran and sailing at Ancol.
Some events will be held outside Jakarta.
Rowing
Canoeing, rowing and traditional boat racing will be at the Jatiluhur dam in Purwakarta, West Java. Otorita Jatiluhur and the Ministry of Public Works are helping to renovate the venue.
Cycling's individual time trials and road races will be on the Cikampek toll road.
Mountainbiking will be at Subang, women's soccer in Bogor and shooting's skeet and trap at Cilodong.
New facilities for squash, wushu and contract bridge are being built at the Senayan Main stadium.
The Games consortium is helping to build a Rp 1.5 billion artificial-surface hockey court.
Saptodarsono said 900 medical personnel would be deployed for the Games which will be staged from Oct. 11 to Oct. 19.
Eighty-five ambulances will be borrowed from state, military and private hospitals.
Saptodarsono, who is also chairman of the Senayan Sports Complex, denied claims by consortium chairman Bambang Yoga Soegama that the complex had been leased to the consortium.
"The consortium does not rent the complex. The Rp 3.5 billion money from the consortium is used to pay the electricity and water bills and also to pay our staff," he said.
"The management cannot lease the complex to others during the renovation. This means we don't receive any income. But we still have to pay our staff," he said.
It costs Rp 12 billion a year to maintain the complex and the government does not subsidize it. (yan)