12 Jakarta sport venues for Asian Games inaugurated

Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan (left) plays baseball as part of the inauguration of the newly opened Jakarta International Baseball Arena in Rawamangun, East Jakarta, on Aug. 13. THE JAKARTA POST

JAKARTA — Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan officiated on Monday 12 sporting venues ready for use for the upcoming 2018 Asian Games. Ten of the venues are renovated sport facilities, the other two —  the Jakarta International BMX Track (JIBT) and the Jakarta International Baseball Arena (JIBA) — are new.

Anies inaugurated the Rp 102 billion (US$7 million) venues by symbolically signing several granite slabs at the JIBA in Rawamangun, East Jakarta.

“Indonesia is out of the ordinary […] people are always pessimistic about us, they think we’ll fail […] but we don’t,” he said, referring to how the city is rushing to complete multiple infrastructure projects ahead of the 18th Asiad.

The 10 renovation projects only began in November 2017, while the JIBT was developed from January to July this year and the JIBA from April to July.

The renovation cost of the 10 sport centers was Rp 35.8 billion (US$ 2.4 million). The development of the JIBT and the JIBA was worth Rp 27 billion and Rp 39.3 billion respectively.

The governor claimed that the new BMX and baseball stadiums are world class. The BMX stadium reportedly achieved top “Class 1” certification from the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) — the world governing body for sports cycling — while the new baseball stadium is “the best in Indonesia, even better than the one in Bung Karno Sports Stadium [GBK]”.

National team baseball player Rizki Ramadhan, who was present at the inauguration, differed from Anies’ enthusiasm.

“It’s standard,” he told The Jakarta Post, pointing out that, while the playing field meets international standards, the stadium itself does not impress in terms of additional facilities.