National Sport complex is under construction



Ha Noi, Nov. 25 (VNA) -- Work started this morning, Nov. 25, on the construction of a 247-ha national sports complex in My Dinh and Me Tri communes of Tu Liem suburban district, Ha Noi.

Present at the ground-breaking ceremony were Pham Gia Khiem, Deputy Prime Minister and Director of the 22nd SEA Games Steering Committee; Hoang Van Nghien, Chairman of the Ha Noi People's Committee (HPC); and Ha Quang Du, Minister-Chairman of the National Sports and Physical Training Committee (NSPTC) and President of the National Olympic Committee.

Speaking at the ceremony, Deputy PM Khiem said that this was an event of political, diplomatic and socio-cultural significance. The NSPTC should collaborate with the HPC and relevant ministries and agencies to build the project with high efficiency, he added.

The complex intended for the 22nd Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) due to be held for the first time in Viet Nam in 2003 will house 28 sections, including a 40,000-seat central stadium, a gymnasium, a swimming pool, a park, a sport section for the elderly, and a shopping mall.

The Infrastructure Construction and Development Corporation is levelling the ground for the building of the stadium in March 2001, which will meet the standards of the International Federation of Football Association (FIFA) and the International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF).--VNA