Cost of building new Olympic stadium to soar to S$2.7b: Japan gov’t

TOKYO — The Japanese government said today (June 29) it expects the overall cost of building a new National Stadium, the main venue of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, to soar by around 90 billion yen (S$990 million) from the initial projection to 252 billion yen.

The construction will begin in October, with May 2019 targeted for completion, two months later than previously planned, sports minister Hakubun Shimomura told a meeting of officials in charge of preparing for the Games.

The soaring cost and an ongoing review of the new stadium’s ultramodern design have given rise to speculation that the project might not be finished in time for the Rugby World Cup in Japan, which kicks off in the fall of 2019, with the new stadium scheduled to be used as a venue.

But Mr Yoshiro Mori, a former prime minister who heads the 2020 Tokyo Olympics organising committee, sought to assuage concern, telling a news conference after the meeting, “I think it will make it in time” for the rugby tournament.

Today’s meeting finalised the contours of a project criticised for its high costs, architectural complexity and a futuristic design that some say would be out of sync with the surrounding area.

Organisers plan to keep the existing design of two gigantic arches over the new stadium, conceived of by Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid but widely criticised as the cause of the high cost and prolonged construction.

They will also delay the setting up of a retractable roof over the stadium until after the Olympics and Paralympics.

The central government and the Tokyo metropolitan government remain at odds over how much of the construction cost should be shouldered by the metropolitan government.

Mr Shimomura, who has asked Governor Yoichi Masuzoe for the metropolitan government to shoulder 50 billion yen, said today that the amount would not be greater than he has already asked for.

Also today, Mr Mori asked Mr Toshiaki Endo, a newly installed Cabinet minister in charge of the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, to act as intermediary between the central government and the metropolitan government.

As part of efforts to finance the construction, Mr Shimomura suggested the idea of selling the right to name the stadium, which will replace the iconic National Stadium built in central Tokyo for the 1964 Olympics.

The projected 252 billion yen is “expensive after all”, Mr Shimomura, minister of education, culture, sports, science and technology, told reporters. “We want to raise as much as 20 billion yen, including donations from the private sector.”

The government will also consider putting up on the walls of the stadium plaques bearing the names of individuals who contribute a large amount of money to the project.

The government had projected the construction to cost 162.5 billion yen, but the forecast had to be revised upward, partly on soaring labour and materials costs. KYODO NEWS