President of Kazakhstan inspects 2017 WU Venues

ALMATY – During his inspection visit of the ‘Ice Palace’, President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev got acquainted with the infrastructure of the sports venue where the opening and closing ceremonies, as well as figure skating and curling competitions, will be held in 2017.

The President of Kazakhstan was informed about the progress of construction of the venues. The Head of the Organising Committee for the Universiade Asset Abdualiyev reported about the work done to date for hosting the international competitions. According to the OC of the 28th Universiade, the total operating budget of the Universiade has been optimised twice – down to 17 billion tenge.

About 2,000 athletes from 55 countries are expected to participate in the competitions held in 12 disciplines at 8 venues. They will be lodged in the specially built Athletes’ Village. Currently, 34 applications from FISU member countries have already been registered.

The ‘Ice Palace’ is part of a complex of sports facilities of the 28th Winter Universiade and has a seating capacity of 12,000 people. Currently, the construction of the venue involves 1.5 thousand workers.

Afterwards, the President held a meeting concerning the development of Almaty and preparation for the Universiade.

President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev

During his speech, he noted that the Universiade is an important image-building project for Kazakhstan designed to bring huge economic benefits.

In this regard, the President ordered the Government together with the Organising Committee and the akimat to take all the necessary measures for proper preparation for the event.

“Furthermore, it’s already necessary to think about the ways how to use these venues after the Universiade. At the same time, the burden on the budget should be minimal, and the venues themselves should be made available to the public. Hosting the Universiade should give new impetus to the development of the city, modernise its architectural appearance, and improve the service at hotels, restaurants, public transports and venues. All of this will stimulate small and medium-sized businesses, increase volume of service and create new jobs”, the President of Kazakhstan said.

(Source: OC Almaty 2017)