Vietnam gears up for 2003 SEAG bid

Vietnam gears up for 2003 SEAG bid

HANOI, Vietnam (AP): Work on a new stadium near Hanoi is expected to start in the second quarter next year in preparation for Vietnam's bid to host the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in 2003, a government official said Wednesday.

Dinh Can, of the National Sports and Physical Culture Committee, said his organization is working on a partial feasibility study for a 40,000- to 60,000-seat stadium as the first stage of a sports complex.

The government in January approved the prefeasibility study for the 2.3-trillion-dong (US$165 million) complex which would include a main stadium, three indoor stadiums, swimming pools, a bicycle racing track and tennis courts, Can said.

The government has approved investment of 600 billion dong for the stadium from the state budget, Can said, adding that the committee has sought another 150 billion dong in loans or other funding for the project.

The government last week gave approval for the committee to prepare for the SEA Games 2003 bid.