JAKARTA, May 9 (Xinhua) -- The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) has expressed its appreciation of the preparation work for the Asian Games being undertaken by Indonesia.
In a meeting with the committee of the Asian Games here on Wednesday, Tsunekazu Takeda, chairman of the OCA Coordination Commission of the Asian Games, said that he is satisfied with the efforts being carried out by the committee (Inasgoc) as it prepares to hold the regional multi-sport event.
"Inasgoc has made much progress in preparation for this tournament," he said.
Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla has expressed his belief that all of the preparation work will be fully completed by June.
A total of 36 policemen and armed forces personnel will be included in security and traffic management during the Games.
A total of about 11,000 athletes and officials from 45 countries and region will take part in 40 sports during the Games.
Indonesia was awarded hosting rights of the upcoming Asian Games, the world's second largest sport event after the Olympics in 2014, after the original host Vietnam withdrew from the commitment due to financial difficulties.
The main facilities for the Games are located in the country's capital of Jakarta and Palembang, the provincial capital of South Sumatra, but the country's youth and sport ministry is also allocating supporting sites in west Java province situated near Jakarta which will provide facilities for soccer, surfing and mountain biking events.
The 18th Asian Games are scheduled to be held from August 18 to September 2.