The Lao SEA Games Organising Committee has confirmed the athletes' village will by ready by next August, after work began on the 42,000sqm site at the Dongdok campus, National University of Laos in July.

A groundbreaking ceremony for the project was held in July, but construction is not yet fully underway due to heavy rain, according to the committee.

The Lao SEA Games Organising Commitee has confirmed the athletes' village will by ready by next august, after work began on the 42,00sqm site at the Dongdok campus, National University of Laos in July.

The government will spend more than 164 billion kip (US$19 million) on the project. This amount comprises a loan of 130 billion kip (US$15 million) and a grant of 34 billion kip (US$4 million) from Hoang Anh Gia Lai Joint Stock Co of Vietnam , with the remainder in the form of a soft loan with no defined interest rate.

A budget agreement was signed in April between Standing Deputy Prime Minister Somsavat Lengsavad and Hoang Anh Gia Lai CEO, Mr Doan Nguyen Duc.

Deputy Minister and Head of the Prime Minister's Office, Prof Dr Boviengkham Vongdara, who is managing the construction project, told Vientiane Times work at the site would accelerate this month.

“The village will have 10 buil dings and other auxiliary facilities. Eight four-storey buildings with international standard facilities will contain 1,000 rooms and accommodate 4,000 athletes. A single-storey building will house a canteen and a three-storey building will contain multi-purpose management offices,” Dr Boviengkham said.

“One floor of the management building will have rooms where the team leaders of each participating nation can meet, while the first and second floors will be used for press conferences and other functions.”

“When the SEA Games end, the athletes' village and all its facilities will be handed over to the National University of Laos for student use,” he said.

Dr Boviengkham said construction and upgrading of all SEA Games facilities would be completed three of four months before the games began.

The committee has decided it will be necessary to move about 13 houses from the project site and hopes to have cleared the area by the end of this month so that all construction work can proceed.

So far only about 5 percent of the work has been completed because people are still living on the project site.

The project management team says hosting the SEA Games is a great honour for Lao people and the country. The games are for the benefit of everyone and the support and cooperation of everyone is essential to make the games a success.

Earlier this month the SEA Games Sports and Rules Committee met in Vientiane to discuss which sports would be included in the games.

The current tally of spo rts stands at 25. They are include billiards and snooker, swimming and diving, tennis, golf, petanque, sepak takraw, wrestling, track and field, shuttle****, volleyball, beach volleyball, table tennis, taekwondo, shooting, kick-boxing, karatedo, badminton, rugby, boxing, football, futsal, judo, boat racing, wushu and pencak silat.