25th SEA Games, Laos

The SEA Games organising committee will start checks on the electrical system at the sports complex from July 15.

The committee and national sports federations will inspect the electrical system after work to bring it up to international standards is complete. Work began on the system in April this year.

The sports complex consists of the National Football Stadium, tennis courts, archery fields, swimming pool, shooting fields and indoor courts which will host the volleyball and badminton events.

Manager of the SEA Games Construction Project, Mr Khiengkham Phoutchanhthavong, said the sports complex will have a high-quality electrical system in place before the games begin.

The committee will soon designate a manager to be responsible for running operations at the football stadium and indoor courts during the games.

Chinese technicians on Saturday tested the scoreboard's electrical system, which has been manufactured in China .

On the same day, members of the National Assembly and the Lao National Sports Committee (LNSC) visited the complex to monitor construction progress.

LNSC Vice President, Mr Somphou Phongsa, said the football stadium and indoor courts are of high standard and have been surfaced with the finest imported materials.

LNSC and NA members also visited athletes' accommodation at the National University of Laos.

The Lao Badminton Federation will host the Lao International Challenge at the indoor courts at the end of July in a trial run of the facilities.

Officials are busy maintaining and preparing facilities at the football stadium and other arenas in the lead-up to the games.

By Sangkhomsay Bubphanouvong
Vientianetimes

(KPL) 25 Sport events of the 2009 SEA Games to be held in Vientiane in December and will have to compete in eight stadiums, which the Sport Committee in currently is preparing the places for fan club to cheer their athletes.The first stadium will be the new sport stadium (Central Stadium) in Saythany district, which will use to be the competition place for men football, track & field, swimming-jumping, archery, badminton, shooting, indoor-beach volleyball and golf.

The second point at the National University of Laos (Dong Dok campus) will have women football, petanque, wrestling, taekwondo, table tennis and weightlifting. The third point at the Lao-ITECC including sepak trakor, wushu and pencak silat.
The fourth stadium at the Chao Anou Stadium that will be competed in qualify round of men football, tennis, judo and karatedo.The fifth point will have only cycling, which will start at the Patouxay-to Tardthong and Dan Soung.

The sixth point at the Don Chan Palace Hotel for billiard and snooker competitions.The seventh place at the Vientiane Sport and Gymnastic Department (Buengkhayong) in Sisattanak district to be competed in Mouay Lao and shuttle cock
The last stadium will take place at the Army Stadium in Km 5 will have men football in qualify round.

As we known all stadiums for the 2009 Sea games already and the sport committee need to invite all people around the country go to cheer Lao athletes as well, and hope that all people will be an important encourage to the athletes in creating the famous for the Lao PDR.

Officials from the Lao SEA Games Organising Committee and Thai Ministry of Tourism and Sport met on Wednesday in Vientiane to discuss preparations for the 2009 SEA Games. –Photo Sisay

The Lao SEA Games Organising Committee (LAOSOC) met with delegates from the Thai Ministry of Tourism and Sports in Vientiane on Wednesday to discuss progress on preparations for the 25th SEA Games.

The meeting was chaired by Lao National Sports Committee Vice President, Mr Somphou Phongsa, and the Thai Ministry of Tourism and Sports' Permanent Secretary Dr Sasithara Pichaichannarong.

The two sides discussed preparations for the games including the compilation of competition technical teams, construction of training and competition facilities, traffic and transport arrangements, volunteer organisers, television broadcasting and accommodation for athletes and officials.

Thai officials reported on the progress of an indoor stadium upgrade which the Thai government is providing 43 billion kip (179 million baht) funding for. The stadium in Beungkhayong village, Sisattanak district of Vientiane will host the shuttlecock and muay events during the games.

The facility is on track for completion in October next year, the meeting was told.

Mr Somphou, on behalf of LAOSOC, thanked the Thai government for its support in upgrading the Beungkhayong indoor stadium and other preparations for the event, which will be held in December 2009.

“In preparing for the games we have also received generous support from other neighbouring countries including Vietnam and China ,” he said.

Last month a meeting of the SEA Games Federation decreed the event would consist of 390 events across the 25 sports of athletics, aquatic sports (swimming, diving and water polo), archery, badminton, billiards and snooker, boxing, cycling, football, golf, judo, karatedo, sepak takraw, shooting, table tennis, taekwondo, tennis and soft tennis, volleyball, weightlifting, wrestling, wushu, muay, fin swimming, petanque, shuttlecock and pencak silat.

Competition venues are the national sports complex at Km 16 in Dongsanghin village, Xaythany district; Don Chan Palace; Booyoung and Olympasia indoor stadiums at the National University of Laos; Lao International Trade Exhibition and Convention Centre; Chao-anouvong stadium in Anou village, Chanthabouly district; the Army stadium at Km 5 and the Vientiane Sports Department in Beungkhayong village, Sisattanak district.



By Sisay Vilaysack

(KPL) The Government plans to improve a road access to the new SEA Stadium to support the upcoming 25th SEA Games to be hosted in 2009, Vientiane Capital.
The distance of road would be improved which stretches from T-junction of Ban Saysavang to the SEA Games’ stadium, at KM16 (Road No 13 south) with an aim to provide convenient communication.

Head of Road Improvement Project, Mr Noulath Latsapong said that the improvement of this road is aiming at expanding road to deal with traffic jams during the 25th SEA Games.

This road is a total length of 4,500 metres and width of 22 metre.
The road improvement is worth US$3.75 million, of which Government contributed 750,000 US dollar and the rest was a loan from Korean fund and it expected to be completed within 18 months.

The technical officials of the project met each other on 13 June at the Department of Construction and Transport to discuss on removing other barriers out of the construction area.

The Government has pledged to compensate local people who have affected from the construction.

The Lao National Sports Committee is improving the old National Football Stadium in Vientiane in preparation for the 25 th SEA Games to be held in Laos next year.

The government is spending 14 billion kip on the work, which began in April and is set for completion by June next year. Group B football matches will take place at the stadium.

The grass will be reseeded and repairs will be made to the electrical system, seating, toilets and running track. New changing rooms will also be built.

The existing stadium has 6,000 seats, which is believed to be sufficient to accommodate spectators at the first round of the football tournament.

Athletics teams are currently training at the stadium in preparation for the 8 th National Games in Champassak province in December. The Lao Football Federation also holds Lao league football matches here.

It is expected there may be some disruption to these activities while the repairs are in progress.

The government is spending a further 20 billion kip to repair the 10,000-seat football stadium in Luang Prabang province, where the SEA Games' women's football tournament will take place.

“The SEA Games Council committee will survey the football stadiums in Vientiane and in Luang Prabang and Champassak provinces next year after repairs have been made,” the Chief of Facilities of the Lao sports committee's Construction Department, Mr Phaiboon Chanthamaly, said.

A new football stadium is being built in Champassak province and is set for completion by the end of this year. The stadium will be used for the National Games and also for some of the men's football matches in the SEA Games. The stadium, which it is located in Pakxe district, will have 15,000 seats.

The semi-final round of the SEA Games' men's football competition will take place at the new National Football Stadium at Km18 in Xaythany district, Vientiane . This stadium will also be used for the opening and closing ceremonies of the games.

The new stadium will have 25,000 seats. Construction work has already begun and the stadium will be finished next year.

By Sangkhomsay Bubphanouvong
Vientianetimes

Photo: Plastic seats in the stadium of thailand

(KPL) The Saplast Vientiane Company, Vietnamese investor has hoped to produce plastic seats for equipping with in the new stadium for the host of 25th SEA Games.
According to Mr Huynhtan Phuoc, Director of Saplast Vientiane Company disclosed last week that our company sent a selling proposal of plastic seats and bins with a reasonable price to the Lao government.

He said that this proposal is a part of efforts to promote the domestic goods and also able to decrease the volume of imported goods especially plastic tools. One more reason if the Lao government adopted our proposal, the foreign currency would not flow out the country.

This company is currently the leading supplier plastic tools to local market, he said. All our products are high quality and international standard.
The company was established in Laos, January 2005 under bilateral cooperation between Vietnamese and Lao governments, with registered investment was around US$ 1.3 million.

Photo: New stadium in Luang Prabang, Laos

Luang Prabang and Champassak provinces are repairing their football stadiums and other locations required for use during the 25 th SEA Games, to be held in Laos next year.

The Lao National Sports Committee has selected the two provinces to host the football events, and is urging them to have everything ready in time.

Two years ago the sports committee agreed Savannakhet province would stage the men's football matches, because there was a new stadium of the required standard and a seating capacity of 15,000.

The province had earlier hosted the 7 th National Games in 2005.

But it was later realised it would be difficult for spectators to travel to Savannakhet province as transport there was less reliable, according to an official in Vientiane last month.

The committee has since agreed to stage the matches in Champassak province, because of its better transport, including a larger airport.

Champassak has been allocated more than 7 billion kip for stadium improvements, to bring seating capacity up to 13,000. Work began in February in 2007 and is slated for completion in September.

The province will also host the 8 th National Games in December.

The committee will also grant more than 26 billion kip (US$30 million) to Luang Prabang province to repair the old football stadium, and will build new football training fields to be used for the SEA Games' women's football matches.

This work will begin in June and expand seating in the stadium to a capacity of 10,000. The stadium was originally built in 1996 for the 5 th National Games.

Luang Prabang is still awaiting 7 billion kip from the government to improve a 4.5km road around the stadium, and provide adequate transport for visitors to the city during the football events.

“We have received about 5 billion kip for road repairs from the Thai government,” said the Director of the Public Works and Transport Division, Mr Fasananh Thammavong.

Most of the construction is in the vicinity of Phousy market and is taking place from March to August.

There are plenty of parking spaces nearby, on a piece of land 1km long and 400m wide.

The airport, which was renovated in 2000, is expected to be able to cope with the increased passenger load.

“We received more than 55 billion kip from the Thai government to renovate the old airport,” said Mr Fasananh.

Source: Vientianetimes

The Lao SEA Games Organising Committee confirmed yesterday that the new sports complex currently under construction for use in next year's 25 th SEA Games in Vientiane is more than 30 percent complete.

Site manager Kiengkham Phoutchanhthavongsa told Vientiane Times yesterday that the work was going well and everything would be finished on time.

“Our goal is for 50 percent of the work to be done by the end of May. The deadline for completion is May next year,” Mr Kiengkham said.

At present more than 800 Chinese construction workers are labouring at the site and another 1,500 will start work before the end of the year.

“The workers are arriving in groups of 40 or 50 as the work intensifies,” Mr Kiengkham explained.

Construction of the sports complex began on October 28, 2007, under contract to the China Yunnan Construction Engineering Group Corporation. The cost of construction is more than US$80 million and has been arranged through a joint cooperation project between the Lao government and the China Development Bank.

The complex is located in Dongsanghin village (km 16), in Xaythany district.

An official from the Lao National Sports Committee announced that construction of another facility, the Lao National Sports Training Centre, is also underway. The centre will be used by Lao athletes ahead of the games, and is now estimated to be 13 percent complete. The committee hopes it will be ready by November.

The centre is being built on a 11-hectare site in Sikeud village, Naxaithong district, at a cost of more than 35 billion kip (US$4 million) financed by grant aid from the government of Vietnam.

It will comprise an office, sleeping quarters for athletes, a running track and playing field, a football pitch, a gymnasium and other facilities for sporting events. The centre will enable up to 200 athletes to train there every day.

The committee believe that athletes will use this centre to great advantage and that it will help them to achieve the best possible results when they compete in the SEA Games.

Meanwhile, the upgrading of other facilities, including indoor and football stadiums to be used for competition and training, is also in progress.

By Sisay Vilaysack
Vientianetimes

(KPL) The construction of new stadium for 2009 SEA Games is repeatedly confirmed to complete as scheduled, said a senior official who is responsible for the construction project last week.

Following a lot of criticisms in society involved to the construction of new stadium would complete on schedule or not? Because there is nothing progress so people have expressed concern over the construction of the 2009 SEA Games at the km18 on Road 13 South, might be not completed on time.

“Now the construction work is 30 per cent completed and expected to be completed on May 2009 and scheduled for inaugural ceremony of 2009 SEA Games, hosted by Laos,” confirmed Mr Khiengkham Phoudthavhanvongsa, Head of Construction Project for New Stadium.

He has expressed thanks people for expressing concern over the construction of new SEA Games and he also said that do not worry about that the new stadium will be scheduled for inaugural ceremony of the 25th SEA Games. Now the construction is 30 per cent completed and the structures of stadium would be completed in May this year.

This stadium comprises main stadium, three warming up fields, a shooting range, two indoor stadiums, swimming pools and tennis courts of world standard, which its structure would be completed and the rest of 50 per cent is decorated work.

The construction work will be completed as scheduled on May 2009, which is time that Chinese construction company has to hand over the stadium to Lao Government.

He explained that the construction delayed due to there was some problem with the passage of new stadium plan and many construction materials have to import. This matter made people in society misunderstood.

After receiving the stadium, Laos will rehearse athletes for the inaugural ceremony of 2009 SEA Games.

KPL

The Lao National Sports Committee will renovate the national football stadium in Vientiane between April and July in preparation for use during the 25 th SEA Games next year.

The Lao Football Federation will hold the Group A football matches here as well as track and field events. It will increase the seating to accommodate about 10,000 spectators.

The federation is organising various annual football events, but they will take place in the football stadium at the National University of Laos and the federation's field.

The federation manages the football stadium, which is currently in poor condition and dirty due to the behaviour of some spectators and the untidy surroundings.



Spectators are in the habit of throwing litter on the ground after eating fruit and snacks; consequently the grounds are not fit for international use.

The committee renovated the stadium in 2000 for the 6 th National Games. It was built in the 1930s, and has been the capital's major venue for football and other matches.

National athletics teams, sports officials and local residents jog on a synthetic track there in the evenings.

The federation's organising committee will introduce more protective measures after the renovation of the stadium next year. Some athletes and the federation's referees still use rooms there on a regular basis.

By Sangkhomsay Bubphanouvong
Vientianetimes

Photo of indoor stadium, National University of Laos. This photo was taken during the International Table tenis competition in Vientiane. Laos will host a major international competition in 2009: the South East Asia (SEA) Games where table tennis will be one of the events.

This new national stadium has been constructed at Km 16 in Xaythany district on Road 13 South of Vientiane city and is expected to be ready 3 months before the SEA Games start. The swimming pools, golf and tennis courts of world standard will be built near the Lao International Trade Exhibition and Convention Centre (ITECC).

The Lao national sport committee announced to organise some sports events in Vientiane, Luang prabang and Savannakhet provinces. The traditional boat racing, canoeing and other events will be held in Vientiane province. The first round of the men football competition will be held in Savannakhet because the new 15,000-seat stadium is completed. The new stadium in Luang prabang province will be used for women football competition.


Photo: New stadium used for the opening ceremony of the 7th National games in Savannakhet province, central Laos.



Photo: New stadium in Luang prabang province, nothern Laos.

Totally 25 sports will be competed at the 25th SEA GAMES in Vientiane, Laos including Lao traditional sports such as archery, top spinning and boat racing.

Reported by: Samakomlao