India sees Delhi 2010 as chance to emerge as significant sporting nation

NEW DELHI, 2 June 2010: The Government of India sees the XIX Commonwealth Games 2010 Delhi as an excellent opportunity to herald the country’s emergence as a significant sporting nation and showcase its organisational capacity to host such major events

In its report to the nation presented by Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh on Tuesday, Government said apart from highlighting the important role of sports, promoting closer ties between the people of the Commonwealth countries and promoting tourism, this Commonwealth Games will provide the nation with state-of-art, international standard sports infrastructure.

The report said Government had approved a budget of nearly Rs. 11,494 crore for the successful conduct of the Games through various ministries. (Of this, the budget for the Organising Committee Commonwealth Games 2010 Delhi to conduct the Games is Rs 1620 crore). The Commonwealth Games will also result in the upgradation of city infrastructure on an unprecedented scale, it said.

The new terminal at the Indira Gandhi International Airport will be fully operational soon, well in time for the Commonwealth Games. It has been designed to cater to 100 million passengers per annum by 2036, the report said.

It also said that 45.83 km was added to the Delhi Metro network. Of course, it will expand to 185 km during the Games, spanning the IGI Airport to Connaught Place, to the Games Village in Akhshardham to all venues.