Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Pacific Games venues need work: Council urges Papua New Guinea to continue efforts


The Pacific Games Council said in a news release that it accepts some of the venues for the 2015 Pacific Games won't be fully completed in advance.
 
"Recent developments have gone another step toward satisfying the council that Papua New Guinea will be ready to host the Pacific Games in 2015," said Vidhya Lakhan, president of the Pacific Games Council. "The council's confidence levels continue to improve, but critically important work remains to be done to guarantee a successful Pacific Games in 2015."
Lakhan and Andrew Minogue, the council's executive director, are visiting Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea this week to assess the state of preparations for the 2015 Pacific Games, the news release stated.
"I urge the government of Papua New Guinea and the minister responsible for the games to continue their efforts to ensure that all stakeholders, especially government departments and statutory bodies, work together and with a renewed sense of urgency to bring the final preparations for the 2015 Pacific Games to a positive conclusion," Lakhan said.
During a July visit, the council urged all stakeholders to redouble efforts to get venues finished well in advance of July 2015, the news release stated, to allow the 2015 Pacific Games Organising Committee "sufficient time to take possession of the venues, test them, and install the necessary overlay, technology and other services required to deliver successful competitions at the games."
This week's visit was planned to assess Papua New Guinea's progress, so final decisions could be made as to where each sport will be conducted, the news release stated.
The council did say "very significant progress has been made in the construction program over the past four months."
The council said arrangements must be made "for the hand-over of clean, secure and safety certified venues to the (organizing committee) by next May at the latest."
"There is no reason, given Papua New Guinea's rich and proud heritage of participation in the Pacific Games and having hosted the event so successfully twice before, that this immediate objective cannot be obtained," Lakhan said.

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