Grand plans for Tokyo Olympic stadium trimmed amid cost fears
Sports minister Hakubun Shimomura has told lawmakers the stadium, which has been designed by award-winning British-Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid, would cost 300 billion yen (HK$23.8 billion), and that was "too massive a budget".
Japan is scaling down the main stadium for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, following an uproar from some prominent architects who believe that it is too big and expensive.
Sports minister Hakubun Shimomura has told lawmakers the stadium, which has been designed by award-winning British-Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid, would cost 300 billion yen (HK$23.8 billion), and that was "too massive a budget".
The 80,000-seat, futuristic-looking stadium had been billed as costing 130 billion yen. The minister's updated estimate includes surrounding construction and infrastructure costs.
"We need to rethink this to scale it down," he said in response to a question from a ruling party lawmaker. "Urban planning must meet people's needs."
The plans for the stadium were approved earlier this year by the city and central governments. Shimomura's remarks signal a policy change.
He did not give specifics on how construction would be trimmed, but stressed that the existing design concept would be kept.