Preparations recommence for Hangzhou’s 2022 Asian Games hosting
The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) has said it is delighted to see that construction work on venues for the 2022 Asian Games in the Chinese city of Hangzhou has resumed.
With work halted for several weeks due to the Coronavirus outbreak, the Hangzhou Asian Games Organising Committee (HAGOC) recommenced construction work as of 11th February, 24 hours after quarantine restrictions were relaxed in Zhejiang province - of which Hangzhou is the capital.
As of 27th February, HAGOC said that construction had resumed on 30 of the 40 projects being built for the Games.
With Hangzhou the third Chinese city to host the Asian Games, after Beijing 1990 and Guangzhou 2010, the 2022 edition of the multisport event will be staged across 44 venues, of which 30 already exist while the remainder are under construction.
In addition to the new venues, which includes a new cycling velodrome at Chun’an County, other facilities being constructed include the athletes village and space for media and technical officials.
Welcoming the resumption of construction, OCA Director General, Husain Al-Musallam stated “this is very good news coming out of China and it highlights the effectiveness of the measures to contain and prevent the coronavirus in the city of Hangzhou and the province of Zhejiang.
“We have full confidence and trust in the Chinese Olympic Committee and the Hangzhou Asian Games Organising Committee that they are making the safety of the people their top priority. The OCA supports the decisions of the COC and HAGOC and will continue to work closely with them in the coming weeks and months.”
With Zhejiang the first Chinese province to declare the highest level of emergency in response to the Coronavirus outbreak in January, the region of 57 million residents began to relax restrictions on 10th February. Workers on Asian Games construction projects must undergo temperature and health checks on a daily basis before entering the site.
The 19th Asian Games, which attracts nations from across the continent, is due to take place from 10th to 25th September 2022. It will feature over 10,000 athletes taking part in 40 sports.
Images: Concept for the main 2022 Asian Games precinct in the Chinese city of Hangzhou (top), an aerial view of the constircution of the Games cycling velodrome (middle) and work ont the Games aqautic centre (below). Courtesy of the Olympic Council of Asia.
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