25th SEA Games, Laos

The Lao SEA Games Organising Committee hosted a Chief de Mission (CDM) meeting in Vientiane on Saturday to hear reports on preparations for the games.

Participants at the half-day meeting received reports from the host nation on such issues as games emblems and mascots, ports of entry, hospitality services, sports complexes, and medical care.

CDM delegates from Brunei , Cambodia , Indonesia , the Philippines , Malaysia , Myanmar , Singapore , Thailand , Vietnam and Timor Leste raised questions and issues at the meeting.

Attendees asked the committee for information about services and accommodation for athletes and coaches at the SEA Games Village , as well as for foreign delegations attending the event.

Chairman of the SEA Games Technical Competition Committee, Mr Somphou Phongsa, said at a press conference after the meeting that the meeting aimed to report on the progress of preparations for the games, after some participating nations raised concerns about the SEA Games Village .

“There were many questions and issues raised, including inquiries about services, medical care, and ticketing, but the majority of queries were about the accommodation for athletes and delegations,” he said.

Mr Somphou said the committees had outlined the services and accommodation that would be provided and the CDM delegations were satisfied with the results.

“Some attendees requested a CDM centre be set up during the games, so we will establish an accreditation centre at the National University of Laos near the SEA Games Village . Another common concern was ticketing arrangements for fan clubs and dignitaries.”

The CDM delegations were asked to submit lists of athletes and delegations from their respective nations that will attend the games by October 26 so arrangements could be made.

The delegates also visited sports venues and the SEA Games Village to view progress and standards.

Mr Somphou pledged the relevant committees would address all suggestions and requests raised at the meeting and ensure excellent hospitality is provided to athletes and delegations during the games.

By Souknilundon Southivongnorath
Vientianetimes

The SEA Games Village is now ready to welcome guests to the 25th SEA Games after a year long construction period.

A handover ceremony of the SEA Games Village from the Hoang Anh Gia Lai (HAGL) Joint Stock Company to the Lao SEA Games Organising Committee (LAOSOC) was held yesterday.


The ceremony was attended by Lao and Vietnamese government officials, representatives from HAGL and the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV).

Standing Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the LAOSOC, Mr Somsavat Lengsavad said, “In the preparations for the first ever hosting of the SEA Games by Laos this December, the Lao government has built up infrastructure. The government of Vietnam is not only assisting Laos on this SEA Games Village project, but has also supported Laos by building an athletes training centre and helped Lao athletes to train at camps in Vietnam.”

He expressed profound thanks to the Vietnamese government, HAGL and BIDV for the assistance they have giving for the SEA Games Village project. He also believed that Laos and Vietnam will have further fruitful cooperation and assistance into the future.

Chairman of the Management Board of HAGL, Mr Doan Nguyen Duc said, the handover ceremony of the SEA Games Village today was a very important day and coincided with the anniversary celebrations for the National Day of Vietnam.

HAGL has not only supported Laos to build the SEA Games Village, but also to train the Lao football team for 12 months in Vietnam under the guidance of Austrian coach Anfred Riedl to lead them to the SEA Games, he said.

Our company has provided assistance to Laos for this year's SEA Games worth a total of more than 42 billion kip (US$5 million), including 33.9 billion kip (US$4 million) for the SEA Games Village, he added.

Construction of the village began on a 42,000 sqm site in Nongviengkham village of Xaythany district near the National University of Laos' Dongdok campus in July 2008. The project was finished last month at a total cost of more than 161 billion kip (US$19 million).

The amount comprises of a loan of more than 127 billion kip (US$15 million) and a grant of 34 billion kip (US$4 million) from HAGL. A small portion comes in the form of a soft loan with no defined interest rate.

The village contains eight buildings and other auxiliary facilities. Eight four-storey buildings with international standard facilities will contain 1,000 rooms and accommodate 4,000 athletes. A single-storey building will house a canteen and a three-storey building will contain multi-purpose management offices.

One floor of the management building will have rooms where the team leaders of each participating nation can meet, while the first and second floors will be used for press conferences and other functions.

When the games end, the village and all its facilities will be handed over to the National University of Laos for students use.

The 25th SEA Games is the first such event to be hosted by Laos , and the country hopes to produce some interesting surprises at the opening and closing ceremonies.

Vietnam has also supported Laos by building an athletes training centre in Vientiane at a cost of about 33.9 billion kip (US$4 million).

The centre, located in Sikeut village, Naxaithong district, was officially opened earlier this year.

The BIDV and the Vietnamese company Hong Quang have also presented more than 847 million kip (US$100,000) each to help fund the opening ceremony of the games.

By Sisay Vilaysack
Vientianetimes

With construction of the SEA Games village now complete, Vientiane will be ready to welcome the four thousand athletes and officials from South East Asian countries due to descend on the city in December.

The 25th SEA Games will be held in Vientiane from December 9-18. The SEA Games village is located on the grounds of the National University of Laos.

Construction of the village is complete and the Lao SEA Games Organising Committee (LAOSOC) will use extra budget allocations for the purchase and installation of 88 washing machines and 48 dryers.

The Hoang Anh Gia Lai Company from Vietnam granted US$400,000 and loaned US$5 million to the Lao government to build the SEA Games village. The company will officially present the village to the Lao government on September 2.

The Vietnamese government assisted in funding the project, providing more than 35 billion kip (US$4 million) in assistance to the Lao National Sports Committee (LNSC).

The LAOSOC will install many types of furniture and equipment, including air conditioners, electrical equipment and water heaters.

At the moment, they are preparing the venue for the installation of laundry appliances.

The village consists of eight four-storey dormitories. Four athletes can comfortably stay in one room.

The LAOSOC is decorating the village to be both aesthetically pleasing and practical for athletic activities.

Landscaping in and around the village is still being undertaken. The national university will mobilise about 100 volunteers to work at the village during the events.

Vice President of National University of Laos , Professor Lammai Phiphakhavong, said that if the number of visiting athletes does not exceed 4,000, some Lao athletes and officials would be able stay at the SEA Games village.

There are more than 1,840 female and 2,400 male athletes from 11 countries registered to participate in the games. Of this number, Laos has 344 men and more than 300 women competing.

Professor Lammai added that those members of the Lao athletic team and other officials unable to be housed at the village would be accommodated at or near the National Sport Training Centre in Sikeut village, Naxaithong district.

The centre is complete, with accommodation for 250 officials, athletes and trainers. It boasts facilities for boxing, wrestling, archery, martial arts, and track and field training.

Some athletes have been staying at the training centre since last April in preparation for the games.

A training centre official, Mr Saosin Vorabouth, said all sports teams would like to stay at the training centre but space is limited.

He said the LNSC is building an indoor stadium and accommodation for the Lao athletes located near the training centre. The stadium and dormitory construction, funded by a grant from the government of Brunei Darussalam, will be finished in November.

The construction of the training centre began in January 2007 and was completed in December of 2008.

In other developments, Vientiane inked an agreement with Lao World Company last month to provide catering for athletic teams during the games.

By Sankhomsay Bubphanouvong
Vientianetimes

(KPL) Prime Minister Bouasone Bouphavanh, his delegation and governors of provinces toured the SEA Games in Vientiane on 19 August.

The SEA Games Village is ready for occupation. The complex of eight building has 992 bedrooms, a restaurant that can accommodate 1,200 diners, an administration room and a recreation centre.The Cabinet organized a soccer match on the grounds of the stadium that will be used for the opening and closing ceremonies of the SEA Games and it was meant to test the hardiness of the field.

The friendly football match was played by a team that was made up of members of the cabinet and the other was made up of governors of the provinces in the country.
The two teams played for 50 minutes and the cabinet won the game by scoring six goals and the other side managed only five.

(KPL) Acting Head of the National Economic Research Institute claimed that the 25th SEA Games, to be held in December this year, would act as a stimulus to the national economy and thereby mitigates the adverse effects of the global economic turmoil.

Mr. Leeber Libuapao also said that the national economic growth is facing a big challenge this year because of the sharp drop in the export of goods.

Mr Leeber added that although the government has designed and implemented measures to try to minimise and overcome the effects of the global crisis but it would take at least a few months before one sees its positive effects.

He also said that the national economic recovery, due to commence in 2010, would only kick in if it coincides with the recovery of the world’s economy by next year and it means that if it would grow by one to two per cent in 2010.

However, the Asian Development Bank, in its press release yesterday, is upbeat on the Lao economy and stated that it would grow by 5.5 per cent this year and 5.7 per cent in 2010.

The acting head of NERI commented on the effects of the biggest hydropower project, Nam Theun Two, on the national economy and said that when it is operational in late 2009, it would generate income and this would not only mitigate the impact of the crisis but it can even boost national economic growth.

Mr. Leeber said that in order to get the Lao economy to grow one should get the consumers to spend and this is because national expense is always equal to national income and the government and people should be aware that consumers who retrench and save money would not be contributing to economic growth.

ORGANIZERS of the 25th Southeast Asian Games in Laos, which will be hosting the games for the first time, said they need at least two more months to complete the construction of the venues and other facilities.

This was according to Deputy Prime Minister and chairman of the 25th SEA Games Organizing Committee Somsavat Lengsavad and senior LNSC officials following an ocular inspection they conducted on the main stadium, the golf course, the main access roads and the Athletes’ Village.

Work was supposed to be finished by March, but according to the Games’ official Web site, the Chinese and Korean companies involved in the construction work are having a difficult time completing the job at the main venue in the Saythany district.

The foreign contractors said the delay was caused by several factors, one of which is the dry summer season, which is not suitable for growing grass inside the football stadium. The grass will only be planted in June, which is the start of the rainy season.

Also, the land around the golf course have yet to be cleared because “some people have yet to leave their homes to make way for the construction.”

Lao Golf Federation president Songkham Silaphets said the course would be completed in May, “as long as plans don’t change.”

Meanwhile, the access road is reportedly 75 percent complete and will be landscaped by May, while engineers from the two companies said it is also difficult to dig drainage channels and install electricity around the main stadium and other venues, prompting Somsavat to ask the Ministry of Public Works and Transport committee to cooperate with the contractors regarding these problems.

More than 400 Lao workers are involved in the construction at a cost of more than $100 million.

A ceremony to hand over the stadium to the Lao government will take place in September.

The 25 events of the 2009 SEA Games to be held in Vientiane in December will be scattered around the eight stadiums. Peter Atencio

www.manilastandardtoday.com

The 2009 Southeast Asian Games Village Project, which is under construction in the Lao capital of Vientiane, is now 45% completed.

Work on the 25th SEA Games athletes’ village, which is being built by Vietnam’s Hoang Anh Gia Lai Joint-Stock Company (HAGL), began on August 1, using almost 700 workers, 95% of whom are from Vietnam.

HAGL is sponsoring the US$19 million 25th SEA Games Village Project with $4 million in nonrefundable aid and an interest free loan of $15 million, which will be repaid within three years.



The project, which will be handed over to Laos’ National University after the sports event, will have 992 rooms in eight four-story blocks, a 1,200-seat dining room, a central hall and functional rooms. The site will also have football fields and basketball facilities.

The athletes' village is on a 42,000sqm site at the Dongdok campus, National University of Laos. The village comprises 10 buildings and other auxiliary facilities. Eight four-storey buildings with international standard facilities will contain 1,000 rooms and accommodate 4,000 athletes. A single-storey building will house a canteen and a three-storey building will contain multi-purpose management offices.