The opening of the 2006 Asian Games in Doha, Qatar
After Vietnam was forced to drop out of hosting the Asian Games in 2019 due to economic problems, Indonesia was awarded the hosting duties, with Jakarta and Palembang serving as co-hosts. But because it would overlap with the next presidential election, it was decided that the games would be held in 2018 instead, putting even greater pressure on the government to get both cities ready to host the massive athletic competition (the second biggest after the Olympics).
Observers have worried that Jakarta would not be ready to host the games by 2018 and already it looks like the capital is slipping off schedule in its preparations for the games. Jakarta Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama said that groundbreaking for “Kampung Atlet” (Athletes Village) the city is building to house competitors has to be postponed until September. Originally, the groundbreaking was to be held in mid-August.
“Hence, we are speeding up the work. Next month we will begin the groundbreaking for Kampung Atlet. I expect that we can do it in September,” Ahok said at City Hall today as quoted by Kompas.
Ahok also said the government was speeding up the development of other infrastructure to get the capital ready to host the games, including construction of the mass rapid transit system (MRT), light rail transit (LRT), additional buses for the Transjakarta and more.
“Most importantly, the LRT corridor from Soekarno-Hatta to Kemayoran will be prioritized so that the athletes can ride the LRT from Soekarno-Hatta directly to Kampung Atlet,” Ahok said.
Indonesia will also be hosting the Asean Youth Games in January 2017 which is held in part to help the host test their preparedness for the Asian Games.
We really hope that the Jakarta Government can pull off most of their infrastructure plans before the games begin in 2018 so it doesn’t become a fiasco. Clearly Ahok is stressed about it and is going to try his hardest to get everything ready, but unfortunately he can’t do it all on his own.
