A Tokyo metropolitan government panel reviewing costly Olympic venues has proposed downgrading the expensive rowing and canoeing site for the Tokyo Games to temporary quality, or moving the events to an existing site in northern Japan.
The city-commissioned panel of outside experts, in a report yesterday submitted to Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike, said a downgrade could decrease the estimated construction and operational cost of the Sea Forest venue from an original ￥70 billion (US$666.1 million) to about ￥30 billion.
Alternatively, using the existing facility in Miyagi Prefecture would require investing an estimated ￥35 billion to meet Olympic standards.
Koike was later yesterday to discuss the report with officials from the International Olympic Committee and other parties.
The panel of academics and business consultants that the governor set up has said the cost of the Olympics could exceed US$30 billion — four times the initial estimate — unless drastic cuts are made.
The panel came up with an option of moving rowing and canoeing to Naganuma, about 400km north of Tokyo, after the projected cost for a new venue in Tokyo Bay soared to US$490 million, seven times the initial estimate.
The Naganuma site is part of the area still recovering from the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
Panel chief Shinichi Ueyama said it is the only realistic alternative to Sea Forest considering the additional construction work and other preparations that would be required.
The report said that the total cost for the current Sea Forest site could be about ￥33 billion to ￥45 billion if redesigned for largely temporary use.
The city panel also proposed options of moving two other sports — volleyball and swimming — from planned new venues to existing ones.
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