Lanka ready to hold Commonwealth Games - CB Governor Cabraal

Chinthana Wasala

Commonwealth Games 2018 Organizing Committee Chairman and Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal yesterday expressed his fullest confidence that Sri Lanka will be ready to host the second biggest sporting event in the world - the Commonwealth Games in 2018. The bid to host the games in 2018 was officially launched at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on May 11, 2018.

Sri Lanka’s emerging economic hub Hambantota competes with Australia’s Gold Coast to host the 2018 games but both CB Governor and 2018 CGOC Co-Chairman and Sports Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage are confident that Sri Lanka will win the bid.

In their bid which was revealed to the media yesterday, Cabraal revealed that the games will be held in a 2500-acre land where all the games venues and the games village will be located. This will be the first occasion that a sports event of this calibre, which is second only to the Olympics, would accommodate all venues in such close proximity. To come up with this plan, the CG 2018 organizing committee comes up with an arrangement which turns the remote village of Meegahajandura in Suriyawewa, Hambantota to a sports city which includes almost every facility that a city which hosted such events earlier was equipped with.

The existing Suriyawewa Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium will also be a part of the CG 2018 and will host the opening, closing ceremonies and the archery competitions.

All the other venues will be developed within the area that has been allocated while the residents of the proposed games village will be relocated. Games village will be accessible through highways, air-taxi, roads and trains which will meet the international standards and the organizers are confident that the venues and other infrastructure will be ready by 2016.

Minister Aluthgamage revealed that there is a strong long term preparation pending with the Sports Ministry, in collaboration with the Ministries of Education, Higher Education and Youth Affairs, to identify new talents and groom new and identified young athletes to win medals at the 2018 Games.

The funds will come through numerous ways, both government and private sectors for the constructions to meet the deadlines. Minister Aluthgamage is confident that the same way Sri Lanka hosted a successful Cricket World Cup with two newly built stadiums and a refurbished stadium, Sri Lanka will be able to finish the CG village well before the deadlines.

“We received the highest appreciations for being the best out of the three hosts of the recently concluded Cricket World Cup and we will repeat the same and all the venues will be ready to host the 2016 South Asian Games which will act as a rehearsal before the big event,” said Minister Aluthgamage.

CB Governor pointed out that Malaysia, under the guidance of Dr Mahthir Mohamed won the bid to host the 1998 CG which changed the fate of their country.

“The 98 Commonwealth Games changed the destiny of Malaysia. In the same way, Sri Lanka will benefit from the 2018 games,” Cabraal added.