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Jakarta. Some Rp 600 billion ($66.6 million) from the nation’s education budget will be used to cover the spiraling cost of hosting the 2011 Southeast Asian Games, Youth and Sports Affairs Minister Andi Mallarangeng has revealed.

Speaking at the State Palace on Thursday after meeting the vice president to discuss preparations for the biennial Games, Andi said the Rp 600 billion from this year’s education budget would supplement the Rp 350 billion already allocated to the event.

Indonesia will play host to next year’s SEA Games, with Palembang as the main host city and Jakarta as the co-host.

Initially, the government had said just Rp 350 billion of the total budget for the Games would come from the central government, with another Rp 60 billion to come from the host provinces. A further Rp 1.4 trillion would be raised from third parties through grants, investments and build-operate-transfer contracts.

Under these initial projections, another Rp 500 billion is set to be allocated for the Games from next year’s state budget.

South Sumatra Governor Alex Noordin said on Thursday that preparations were under way at some venues and that the athletes village was being built.

Most of the events will be held at Palembang’s Jakabaring Sports Complex, which is undergoing a Rp 1.7 trillion renovation. The opening and closing ceremonies — on Nov. 11 and Nov. 20 — will be held at the 65-hectare complex’s crown jewel, Gelora Sriwijaya Stadium.

Alex conceded there had been budget problems. “We need a budget of nearly Rp 1.7 trillion, but only Rp 60 billion has been allocated from our regional budget. We just have no money,” he said, adding that more funds needed to come in via grants or investments.

“That is our aim, and [the central government funds] are much appreciated from the president and vice president,” he said. “It is impossible to simply depend on the regional budget. At the same time, we cannot just depend on the state budget as there is lots of other spending that needs to be done.”

Yopie Hidayat, Vice President Boediono’s spokesman, said the funds from the education budget were only a “loan.”

“The money will be used to build SEA Games facilities that will also be beneficial for education, for example, turning venues into sports schools,” Yopie said after the meeting.

Andi said Boediono had emphasized that hosting the Games was “a national endeavor.”

“Therefore, all national agencies, ministries and the country’s private sector should help support the preparations for the SEA Games,” he said.

Indonesia was appointed by the SEA Games Council last year to take over hosting duties from Singapore, which pulled out after it said it would not be ready.