YOG village ready for use by June

Upgraded Youth Olympic Games village ready for use by June

The Youth Olympic Games village has been upgraded and will be ready for use by June this year.

Located at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU), the village will house 5,000 athletes and officials.

It is now undergoing the finishing touches before the village is officially opened on August 10.

Upgrading works started in December 2008.

The village is divided into two main areas - the Residential Zone and the Village Square.

Major works included sprucing up the 3,000 rooms, fixing air-conditioning and even changing some of the mattresses.

Improvements works were carried out on the meeting rooms, lecture theatres and the training facilities, while the dining area capacity has been increased to 1,800 seats.

Sheryl Lim, Director of Youth Olympic Village, said: "We are using the existing facilities, the training facilities as well as all the tutorial rooms here and the dining halls. So there is nothing that we are building brand new, so we are really prudent in managing our budget."

Retail and other features like banking facilities will also be made available.

Another major area is the Village Square, which will host the Culture and Education Programme for the Games.

This is where 205 booths representing all the National Olympic Councils will display the diversity of world cultures.

The village will also be environmentally-friendly, but more importantly, the whole upgrading effort will leave a legacy for the students of NTU to enjoy after the Games.

-News courtesy of Channel Newsasia-