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Kaohsiung holds on to World Games as arena hits target

Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief as the city managed to preserve its right to host the 2009 World Games by completing an indoor arena for the international sports event prior to the Aug. 28 deadline.

Chen said she could relax after learning that the Kaohsiung Arena, the site of the World Games scheduled for July next year, had acquired its usage permit.

With the arena having obtained the necessary permits, the city is now ready to hold warm-up contests for the Games as scheduled next month, she said.

Work on the arena began on Aug. 13, 2004, and was expected to be completed within two years. But serious delays in the construction raised the ire of the International World Games Association, the body responsible for the World Games.

The association threatened to take away Kaohsiung’s right to host the Games if the arena could not be completed in time for the warm-up competitions.

On a visit to the new arena, Chen expressed her gratitude to the engineers and workers who completed the facility ahead of the deadline.

The Kaohsiung Arena, which was built as a BOT (build-­operate-transfer) project by China Steel affiliate Kaohsiung Arena Development Corp at a cost of NT$6.7 billion (US$210 million), is a 15,000-seat multi-functional facility.

The city government provided subsidies of NT$1.5 billion for the construction of the facility, which will be operated by Kaohsiung Arena Development Corp for the next 50 years.

Also yesterday, the city invited the public to attend an international regatta at the Port of Kaohsiung at the weekend and to cheer for the competitors, a local official said Friday.

An official from the city government’s Marine Bureau, which organized the event, said the inshore race would be held at the port’s Honorary Pier (光榮碼頭) and at Sizihwan (西子灣).

A total of 81 local and foreign competitors will sail 11 keel boats registered in Hong Kong, Australia, Japan, Singapore and Taiwan, the official said.

The two-day regatta will include sailing, canoeing and surf-boarding competitions, the official said, adding that a lottery would be held on the opening day.

Additional information is available on the Kaohsiung City Government Web site.
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