Jakarta (ANTARA) - The construction of the basketball arena for the 2023 FIBA World Cup at Bung Karno Sports Arena here is targeted to be completed by January next year, an official has said.
"It will be done by the start of January and it will be ready for testing in March," chairman of the Indonesian Basketball Association Executive Board (PP Perbasi), Danny Kosasih, informed here on Tuesday.
The construction of the basketball arena for the 2023 FIBA World Cup began in December 2021.
The arena has been designed to become a multipurpose arena for other sports, such as badminton and indoor volleyball, as well as other activities such as concerts and music shows.
The arena is projected to hold up to 16 thousand spectators, thereby making it the largest venue in Indonesia in terms of capacity.
Meanwhile, Gelora Bung Karno Sports Palace in Senayan, which is used for various sports branch matches including basketball, can only hold 10 thousand spectators.
BritAma Arena, which is also a basketball venue, can only seat five thousand, while Senayan Basketball Hall can only hold four thousand spectators.
Related news: Bank Mandiri becomes main sponsor for 2023 FIBA World Cup
2023 FIBA World Cup Event director Budisatrio Djiwandono said that FIBA has requested that the basketball arena be ready to be used in June next year.
"Yesterday, based on the arena survey by Perbasi, the construction progress is 3–4 percent faster. The June target is ready," he informed.
"FIBA expects that the arena can be used for a trial run by March. Then, by December, the field of play target can be used," he said.
Overall, it can be said that the development is on the right track, he remarked.
In addition to Indonesia, the Philippines and Japan will also serve as hosts for the 2023 FIBA World Cup.
Related news: IBF opens, to prepare players for FIBA Asia Cup
