Covid-19 crisis slashes Vietnam’s SEA Games, Para Games budgets

As per the initial plan, the steering committees of SEA Games 31 and Para Games were supposed to be established by the end of February and their first meeting held in March or April. But the Covid-19 pandemic has paused everything. 

The financial damage that the novel coronavirus has inflicted on Vietnamese sport has seen cuts in the budgets  for organizing events and upgrading sports facilities.

In particular, the total budget for organizing both events will be VND1,000 billion ($42.36 million), down VND900 billion from the initial plan. The budget for renovating and upgrading facilities has also been cut down from VND805 billion to VND600 billion.

This limited budget may cause the cancellation of some of the previous project proposals on upgrading facilities. For instance, the cost for renovating the shooting range at Hanoi’s National Sports Training Center will be VND198 billion, nearly one third of the budget. The archer range will cost VND15 billion to upgrade. 

If these two projects are canceled, over VND200 billion will be saved to use for more important targets, like upgrading the My Dinh National Sports Complex, which includes the national football stadium and water sports stadium.

This is the second time that Vietnam is hosting the SEA Games and Para Games. The first was in 2003. SEA Games 31 is scheduled to be held from November 21 to December 2, 2021, while the Para Games are to take place from December 14 to 21.