'PyeongChang on right track'

International Olympic Committee Coordination Commission Chairwoman Gunilla Lindberg, left, and PyeongChang Organizing Committee President Kim Jin-sun hold a news conference in PyeongChang, Gangwon Province, on Thursday. / Korea Times

By Jung Min-ho

PYEONGCHANG ― International Olympic Committee (IOC) Coordination Commission Chairwoman Gunilla Lindberg praised the PyeongChang Organizing Committee for the 2018 Winter Games (POCOG) for making steady progress in the event preparations.

"We were able to see that a large amount has been accomplished by POCOG and its partners since our last visit in June 2013," Lindberg said at a press conference Thursday, which came after her commission's first meeting in PyeongChang since the end of the Sochi Olympics.

"The 2018 Games are on the right track."

During their four-day visit, the 49 commission members visited venues under preparation and gave advice to the organizers.

"The IOC's coordination commission meeting reminded us the fact that it is now about PyeongChang rather than next," POCOG President Kim Jin-sun said. "After the Sochi Games, the eyes of the world are now on PyeongChang."

"But there still is much to be done," Lindberg noted. The IOC requested the organizers to focus more on some areas such as marketing and services for the next six months.

"The IOC showed its concerns about some construction plans that are not finalized as well as marketing issues. It also asked us to secure outstanding workforce with expertise that can be dedicated to the event for a long time," Kim said. "We agree with issues addressed by the IOC, and we will thoroughly discuss this with the IOC to come up with solutions."

Kim promised to make noticeable progress in marketing this year. He added POCOG is now in talks with some major companies in various industries.

The commission members visited Olympic facilities under construction or planning from PyeongChang Mountain Cluster to Gangneung Coastal Cluster on Wednesday.

According to POCOG, the sliding center and Alpine skiing venue have already been under construction, while construction of ice rinks in Gangneung will begin on May 22.

"As for the existing stadiums, they are under scrutiny for renovation, which will be handled sometime next year after finalizing the plan," POCOG noted in a press release.

The construction projects are scheduled to be completed by September 2017 before test events begin that year.

"We are pleased to see that work on key sites like the sliding center and coastal Olympic Village has begun," Lindberg said. "The information provided to us on site reassured us about the development of the venues that have not yet been started."

IOC Sports Director Christophe Dubi also said the IOC is confident after receiving the end date of some of the projects, which is one of the most meaningful progresses made this time.

Lindberg complimented "the strong spirit of cooperation" among winter international sporting federations, Korean federations and different stakeholders, noting that it will "undoubtedly allow PyeongChang 2018 to deliver the best venues possible for the athletes."

The members also visited the site of the two Olympic Villages that will accommodate athletes during the Games.

"We're especially happy with the Mountain Village because we've been struggling a bit there but now they presented a new concept and it's good," Lindberg said.

"The first proposal was not really good and then we had some problems but then they found this place and a constructor and we are very happy with it."

"It's not ready yet but I have full confidence in how they're going to build it up and time wise also its incredibly good timing for the test events … We are really happy."

After finishing planning and structuring of the villages, construction will start in March. The projects are expected to be completed by September 2017.

The next Coordination Commission visit to PyeongChang will be the end of November, while in June, POCOG will host the IOC debriefing of the Sochi Games with the principal Games stakeholders.

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