Asian Games Preparation Right on Track: VP Kalla
Jakarta. Vice President Jusuf Kalla, the head of Indonesia's 2018 Asian Games steering committee, said on Tuesday (18/07) he was more than happy with the progress of preparation for Asia's biggest sporting event, which will be held in Jakarta and Palembang in August-September next year.
"After seeing the progress on facilities and infrastructures for the Games in Jakarta and Palembang, I'm optimistic the Asian Games will be a big success and comply with all rules and requirements," Kalla said after leading a meeting of the Indonesian Asian Games Organizing Committee, or Inasgoc, at Wisma Serbaguna in Senayan, Jakarta, on Tuesday.
The Games will use 80 sporting venues in Jakarta and Palembang in South Sumatra. West Java will provide additional 18 venues.
At the meeting, Kalla repeated President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's instruction in June that Inasgoc and other event organizers involved in the Games should keep expenses within the allocated budget and avoid fee mark-ups.
"The government will give you what you need, but you can't spend more than what you're given. And remember that what we build will be used long after the game," Kalla told officials who attended the meeting, including Sports Minister Imam Nahrawi, Public Works Minister Basuki Hadimuljono, Deputy Finance Minister Mardiasmo, West Java Governor Ahmad Heryawan and South Sumatra Governor Alex Noerdin.
Inasgoc chairman, media magnate Erick Thohir, laid out at the meeting a new system to help Games organizers follow Jokowi and Kalla's directions, called the Command and Operation Center, or COC.
"The COC system will show budget allocations for every program and every event, so we can track spending and work more efficiently," Erick said.
Erick also told Kalla the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) has come to a final decision on the number of sports for the 2018 Games: 39.
"We will hold a test event in February 2018 with 10 sports," he added.
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