The Government has urged completion of final preparations at the SEA Games Village in Vientiane , ahead of the arrival of the first wave of athletes and tournament officials this week.
Standing Deputy Prime Minister and SEA Games Organising Committee Chairman Mr Somsavat Lengsavad said at a meeting on Saturday that electricity, water and other facilities should be rechecked and any problems solved before the athletes arrive.
“Committees, construction companies and others should send their staff to solve any problems that arise during the games,” he said.
Mayor of the SEA Games Village Professor Lammay Phiphakhavong reported that there were still some small problems at the village that needed to be cleared up before the athletes arrived.
“There are still some small problems with electricity, water, room keys and the canteen. Some lamps are broken, there is sometimes no hot water on the second and third floors, some of the rooms don't have keys and there are some problems with the canteen toilets,” he said.
Mr Lammay said at the meeting that the construction company, electricity and water staff should stay at the village until the games are over so they could fix any problems as quickly as possible.
“If there is not enough space for all the guests and athletes at the village, we will take them to stay at the National University of Laos which is only 1km away,” he said.
Mr Somsavat asked electricity and water supply staff to fix any problems quickly, saying that because it was cool there should be hot water available.
Electricity workers should work with builders to locate the source of the problem and fix it this week, he said.
Representatives from both water and electricity companies told the meeting they had contacted the construction company and had found faults with their work, so they would need to sort out solutions this week.
Mr Somsavat said the SEA Games Village must test both water and electricity because when the village was fully occupied these utilities would be in full use.
All the lights must be turned on at the same time to see whether they are functioning or not, and if there is a problem it must be sorted out immediately, he said.
“They should also follow the same procedure to test the water. And all the other small problems should be fixed as well.”
By Souknilundon Southivongnorath
