OLYMPICS-TOKYO/COSTS IOC talks costs of venues in Tokyo

Record ID: 148794

  • Title: OLYMPICS-TOKYO/COSTS IOC talks costs of venues in Tokyo
  • Date: 1st July 2015
  • Summary: TOKYO, JAPAN (FILE) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF CONSTRUCTION WORK AT THE NEW OLYMPIC STADIUM
  • Embargoed: 16th July 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Japan
  • Country: Japan
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA7TUOFSRPEX7GBYZ2Q6KRPRNMP
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: International Olympic Committee Vice President John Coates met with the Japanese Olympic Committee to discuss the upcoming 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics, including the widely debated issue of soaring costs.
    As part of the opening remarks, Coates touched upon the cost involving the construction of the venues.
    "We have achieved savings of, as you've heard, U.S. 1.7 billion dollars in the process from your revised construction budget, but I do acknowledge, that the cost of these venues is something that we are going to have to continue to carefully scrutinize and manage," Coates said at the conference.
    "It's not to say some of these venues won't increase in cost, and it's not to say we can't find more savings," he added.
    Recently appointed Olympics Minister Toshiaki Endo, Tokyo Governor Yoichi Masuzoe, and Education Minister Hakubun Shimomura also attended the conference.
    After tensions rose between Masuzoe and Shimomura regarding the cost for the new National Stadium, Olympic officials finally set the construction cost at $2 billion last month.
    The cost is nearly twice the original estimate, and the stadium will be completed two months later than first thought. Japanese media say it will end up costing many times more than what either the London or Beijing Olympic stadiums cost.
  • Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
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