Vice President Boediono, third left, conducted a brief tour of the venues in Palembang on Oktober 10, 2011.
SEA Games Venues Will Be Ready, Contractor Says
Laughing off mounting doubts about venues for the Southeast Asian Games, one of the major firms in the project insists they will be built on time.
Progress has been slow in construction of three main venues — the athletics stadium, aquatics center and shooting range — at Jakabaring Sports City in Palembang, which is co-hosting the Games with Jakarta.
Delays have seen construction fall well behind schedule, raising concerns whether the South Sumatra capital will be ready when the Games open on Nov. 11.
“Working hours in construction are different than the usual office hours,” Endang Hidayat, the aquatics center project manager, said on Monday.
“In construction we have effectively 24 hours in a work day, with three teams working in eight-hour shifts. We can assure you the aquatics center will be finished on time.”
Contracting firm Prambanan Dwipaka is helping build the aquatics, athletics and shooting venues, which together cost more than Rp 300 billion ($34 million). Endang said in August that the local government had not followed through with its funding pledges, forcing his company to spend Rp 100 billion of its own money to keep the construction going.
Prambanan Dwipaka manager Tedjo Kuncoro insisted the athletics stadium would be finished by the end of this month.
“Our main problem during construction has been money. We weren’t able to work quickly because the money to build this Rp 138 billion stadium because the money came late,” Tedjo told state news agency Antara.
SEA Games Venues Will Be Ready, Contractor Says
Laughing off mounting doubts about venues for the Southeast Asian Games, one of the major firms in the project insists they will be built on time.
Progress has been slow in construction of three main venues — the athletics stadium, aquatics center and shooting range — at Jakabaring Sports City in Palembang, which is co-hosting the Games with Jakarta.
Delays have seen construction fall well behind schedule, raising concerns whether the South Sumatra capital will be ready when the Games open on Nov. 11.
“Working hours in construction are different than the usual office hours,” Endang Hidayat, the aquatics center project manager, said on Monday.
“In construction we have effectively 24 hours in a work day, with three teams working in eight-hour shifts. We can assure you the aquatics center will be finished on time.”
Contracting firm Prambanan Dwipaka is helping build the aquatics, athletics and shooting venues, which together cost more than Rp 300 billion ($34 million). Endang said in August that the local government had not followed through with its funding pledges, forcing his company to spend Rp 100 billion of its own money to keep the construction going.
Prambanan Dwipaka manager Tedjo Kuncoro insisted the athletics stadium would be finished by the end of this month.
“Our main problem during construction has been money. We weren’t able to work quickly because the money to build this Rp 138 billion stadium because the money came late,” Tedjo told state news agency Antara.
“There were times when we had to dig into our own pocket so the work didn’t stop. We were willing to sacrifice because we knew this was for the nation.”Concerns over Indonesia’s readiness have led some House of Representatives lawmakers to suggest postponing the Games, but Endang rejected the notion.
“I don’t care about what they say. Our job is to finish this on time and we will,” he said. “We are filling the pool with water and on Friday we will install the timing devices, which will take around five days. The aquatic center will be ready to be use as late as the end of this month.”
Aside from money issues, the weather is also plaguing preparations. South Sumatra is entering the rainy season and the roads around Jakabaring Sports City have yet to be finished, Tedjo said, making it hard for heavy equipment to enter construction sites.
There are also worries over flooding as the complex sits on what was formerly swampland.
In a show of support, Vice President Boediono visited the Games venues on Monday.
“[The Games] are not only South Sumatra’s event but also the country’s. I urge everyone to help Palembang make the Games a success,” he said.
