With the track oval inside New Clark City in Capas, Tarlac already finished, national athletes from many discplines can start using the facilities in preparation for the 30th Southeast Asian Games.
The Bases and Conversion and Development Authority made this assurance with three months and three weeks before the start of the Games on Nov. 30.
“I saw the new facilities. I saw the track oval. It’s finished already. And I’m impressed by the way it has been built,” said Stephen Fernandez, deputy ched de mission for the national team.
By the third or fourth week of August, Fernandez believes that national athletes can already set foot on the oval and do their workouts there.
“It’s part of getting used to by the athletes,” said Fernandez.
Fernandez added the aquatics center is almost done and needs only a few work to be completed.
Meanwhile, the BCDA said the test events can now be held in September.
BCDA president and CEO Vince Dizon said in a television interview they are ahead of schedule.
“We’re actually a bit ahead of schedule. We should be able to test the facilities for the South East Asian Games as early as next month,” said Dizon.
The BCDA had earlier given the contractors tasked to get the many venues up and ready in an internal deadline by the BCDA before the first week of September.
By then, this will make all the venues ready with three months before the multi-sport event is held from November 30 to December 11.
There are a total of 530 events across 56 sports that are calendared.
Meanwhile, officials of the Philippine SEA Games Organizing Committee said they are now in the final stretches of physical and operational preparation and their only concern now are the temporary structures that they plan to set up for events that still have no venues.
There will be 44 competition venues, and many events will be spread out in Metro Manila and then to Pampanga, Zambales and La Union in the north.
And there will be other events that are slated in Batangas, Laguna and Cavite in the south.
The opening ceremonies will be at the Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan.