No Light Rail For Asian Games

(ATR) Indonesian officials admitted that the light rail system being built in Jakarta will not be done in time for the 2018 Asian Games.

The latest test for the light rail was scheduled for Aug. 15, just three days before the opening ceremony. However, officials at the 2018 Asian Games Organizing Committee (INASGOC) told the Tempo.co news agency that the light rail was no longer part of athlete transport plans.

"Most likely it won’t be used," Danny Buldansyah, INASGOC director of media, was quoted as saying.

Buldansyah said that shuttle buses allowed for athletes to be "picked up in front of the [Asian Games Village], and directly arrive at the venue, without walking".

Anies Baswedan, Governor of Jakarta, reportedly questioned the use of LRT during the Games, after previously directing construction to be sped up to finish the project ahead of the event. A number of Asian Games venues, including the velodrome, exist on under construction LRT lines. Work is estimated to be 75 percent completed, according to Tempo.co.

"What is the purpose of providing the LRT for the Asian Games?" Baswedan was quoted as saying. "What would the athletes go to the mall for?"

A Dozen Venues Inaugurated

Baswedan inaugurated 10 refurbished venues and two new venues as part of a blitz just before the 2018 Asian Games.

The venues were clustered in East Jakarta. Both the baseball stadium and BMX stadium were newly built for the 2018 Asian Games.

"Indonesia is out of the ordinary... people are always pessimistic about us, they think we’ll fail...but we don’t," Baswedan said according to a report from the Jakarta Post.

According to the report the two stadiums cost around $7 million.

Football Tournament Starts

Competition for the 2018 Asian Games is already under way.

The 25-team men’s football tournament began on Aug. 10, with group A playing four matches over two days. Group A is the only group in the tournament to feature five teams.

Palestine and the United Arab Emirates were originally excluded from the draw only to be included later. The UAE was drawn into Group C replacing Iraq, which withdrew. Palestine was then added into Group A.

Indonesia played its first game of the tournament winning 4-0 against Chinese Taipei. According to a release from the Olympic Council of Asia, INASGOC President Erick Thohir attended the match.

Palestine currently leads Group A with four points, from two matches. Both Indonesia and Hong Kong have three points from one match. Chinese Taipei has one point from two matches, and Laos has zero points from two matches.

Written by Aaron Bauer

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