It’s a ‘bit tight’: Indonesian organisers in Asian Games race against time

With less than nine months to go, earthmovers and cranes dot construction sites and plans for logistics remain hazy, pointing to a frantic build-up to the regional Olympics in August

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The organisers of the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia are in a race against time to be ready. Photo: AFP

Published: 4:15pm, 1 Dec 2017Updated: 7:29pm, 11 Jul 2018

Half-finished venues and an air of unpreparedness raise an uncomfortable question for Indonesia: will it be ready for next year’s Asian Games?

With less than nine months to go, earthmovers and cranes dot construction sites and plans for logistics remain hazy, pointing to a frantic build-up to the regional Olympics in August.

Turbulent preparations for major events are nothing new: the 2004 Athens Olympics stadium was only completed weeks before the opening ceremony, and Brazil’s 2014 World Cup went ahead in unfinished venues.

Erick Thohir, chairman of the Indonesia Asian Games 2018 Organising Committee, insists Indonesia will be ready. Photo: AFP

The doomsday scenario remains New Delhi’s 2010 Commonwealth Games, where problems ranged from filthy conditions at the athletes’ village to collapsing infrastructure.

Indonesia had its own problems with the 2011 Southeast Asian Games – which, like the Asian Games, were split between Jakarta and Palembang in South Sumatra – following corruption scandals and a deadly stampede at the football final.

But the Asian Games are on a different scale altogether: 9,500 athletes in 40 different sports, compared to 28 for the last Olympics, and held in two different cities for the first time in the event’s history.