JAKARTA: This year’s Asian Games in Jakarta and Palembang will cost $3.2 billion to the Indonesian economy, a new survey has estimated.
Indonesia’s National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) claims Jakarta Palembang 2018 will have a multibillion dollar impact on the local economy along with another major event to be held in the country this year, the meeting of International Monetary Fund and World Bank Group in Bali shortly after the end of the Asian Games, Insidethegames wrote.
But it is the Asian Games which will have the greatest impact, the study claims. Most of the money is being spent on infrastructure projects.
Bambang Brodjonegoro, the head of Bappenas, claimed a total of $2.4 billion will be spent on infrastructure development surrounding the Asian Games.
Projects include the Palembang light rail transit connecting Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II International Airport and Jakabaring Stadium Complex and the renovation of Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta.
The Palembang LRT is estimated to cost $676 million. It is estimated that foreign visitors coming to Indonesia to watch the games, due to take place between Aug. 18 and Sept. 2, will spend up to $245 million on accommodation, transport and medals.
On average, a foreign visitor in Indonesia spends $100 per day, previous studies have shown.
The head of the planning agency also sees several non-economic benefits as a result of the games, including enhanced social cohesion and the opportunity for local human resources to improve their skills as they gain experience from an international event.
