Indonesian President Joko Widodo and other officials on October 16 met a delegation of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) led by its chairman Sheikh Fahad Al-Sabah to discuss preparation for the 18th Asian Games (ASIAD 18).

At the meeting (Source: ANTARA News)

The Games will be held in Jakarta and Palembang from August 18 to September 2, 2018. As many as 9,000 athletes from 54 countries are expected to compete at the event.

The Gelora Bung Karno stadium in Jakarta capital city, one of the main venues of ASIAD 18, is under upgrade and 80 percent of the work has been completed.

Other sport facilities are also being renovated, including the cycling stadium in Rawamangun and Pulomas racing course.

The Indonesian Government spent 25,000 billion IDR (1.9 billion USD) on infrastructure development funds for the sport event.

However, one of the major challenges of the country is how to transport athletes to competition venues without being affected by severe traffic jam.

Indonesia was chosen to be the host of ASIAD 18 after Viet Nam’s withdrawal in April 2014. The country hosted the Asian Games in 1962 and Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) in 2011.

(Source: VNA)