Despite growing criticism for its poor preparation in hosting the
ongoing 2012 National Games, the Riau provincial government is aiming to
host another sporting event, the Islamic Solidarity Games III, to be
held next June.
The province is likely to build more sport
venues for next year’s games, even as the National Games entered the
second week in some venues that critics have called incomplete and
unsafe.
“In our continued construction project, we need support
from all parties. We have asked sponsors for that purpose. Should we
fail, we would find alternatives [for funding],” Riau Governor Rusli
Zainal told reporters in the provincial capital Pekanbaru on Saturday.
His
remarks came shortly after he received a delegation of eight officials
from the Islamic Solidarity Sports Federation (ISSF).
Rusli said
major projects that would need to be undertaken include an aquatic
center, as the available pools in the province don’t meet international
standards.
The provincial government has asked for help from
upstream oil and gas regulator BPMigas in helping to finance the
renovation of existing pools or to build new ones. It had already
received support from Chevron in the construction of a Rp 62 billion
($6.5 million) building for the Chinese martial art known as wushu,
Rusli said.
“Support from sponsors really helped us,” he said.
The ISSF delegation praised Riau’s preparation and expressed confidence that the province would be fully prepared in time.
“It’s
a great honor for us to come to Riau to see the preparation of the
upcoming games,” ISSF secretary general Mohammad Saleh Gazdar said. “We
are here to coordinate with the organizing committee, which is in Riau
and Jakarta, to finalize most of the important issues. Since we came
yesterday, we visited the venues where the games are going to be held.
“In
fact, because the National Games are being held and the activities are
going on and about 11,000 of athletes are here, all the venues are
occupied. It was a great opportunity to look at the preparation. The
observers saw that the venues are almost very good. There are minor
things needed to be maintained and finished as soon as possible. By the
time you’re going to hold the games, the venues are ready.”
ISSF’s event might draw 2,500 athletes from 57 member nations of the Organization of Islamic Conference.
Riau
was criticized after the canopy of the indoor tennis stadium collapsed
days before the National Games started. The thickness of the wall
surrounding the shooting venue also didn’t meet safety standards.