Construction of new stadium on track for Tokyo Olympics

Tokyo : Construction work for the new Olympic Stadium here for the 2020 Olympic Games is progressing on schedule and is expected to be completed by the end of 2019, the organizers claimed on Wednesday during a media tour of the games village under construction.

A little more than two years are left before the next Summer Olympics, set to begin on July 24, 2020, reports Efe.

Work to build the new Olympic stadium began in late 2016 and the basic structure has been completed, while the outer cover, roof, sports area and the passages for public access are yet to be finished.

A spokesperson of the Japan Sports Council, owners of the stadium, said that around 40 percent of the work has been completed and everything was going as planned with a view to finishing around November 19, 2019.

With a capacity of 68,000 spectators - expandable to 80,000 with extra stands - the new stadium will be the main venue for the Olympic Games and is situated at the same place as the now-demolished National Stadium, which hosted the 1964 Olympics.

In 2015, the government and the organizing committee decided to revise the original design of the project to reduce the budget after widespread criticism over the size and cost of the stadium.

According to the organizers, the new design by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma is more environment friendly and adapted to Japanese tradition and surroundings, although the change in design significantly delayed the project's completion date.

The roofs and facades of the new stadium will almost entirely be covered in wood, while the outside will have stepped terraces and vertical gardens, while trees would be planted in the surroundings using recycled water.

Organizers said the use of these material and a design that helps air circulation would help in dealing with high summer temperatures in Tokyo.

Around 2,000 workers are involved in the stadium construction on a budget of 148.9 billion yen ($1.32 billion).