Vietnam will not host the 2019 Asian Games as Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and other government officials agreed that the country lacks both the experience and funds to successfully execute the event, reports Tuoi Tre.
After beating out Indonesia for the right to host in 2012, initial costs for building facilities and logistics for the Asian Games were estimated at $150 million but economists have warned that the figure could reach $500 million.
“The global financial crisis and economic depression has affected Vietnam's economy severely while the state and local budgets are very limited and have to be earmarked for other urgent [socio-economic] tasks,” said Dung.
The sentiment was echoed in a recent Tuoi Tre poll of 13,661 Vietnamese citizens which found that 84 percent of respondents did not support the idea of Vietnam hosting the event.
PM Dung instructed the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism to work with the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) to withdraw the plan to host, according to an April 17 statement.
It’s nice to see Vietnam avoid the economically ruinous path that other SE Asian countries have previously taken. Thailand spent $675 million but only turned a $84 million profit when it hosted the games in 1998.
[Tuoi Tre]
