By Jeremy Koh
It's less than 200 days to the start of the inaugural Youth Olympic Games.
And organisers are now rushing to put the finishing touches to theYouth Olympic Village at the Nanyang Technological University campus.
They say the remaining works at the site are scheduled to be completed by May.
Refurbishing works have been ongoing ever since NTU first learned in August 2008 that it will be the host venue for the athlete's village.
But it's not an extreme makeover.
Officials say upgrading works at the campus were carried out only when necessary.
Sheryl Lim is the Director of the Youth Olympic Village Division.
"We are using the existing training facilities and all the tutorial rooms here, and the dining halls. so there's nothing brand new so we're really prudent in managing our budget."
But she declined to reveal the cost of the upgrading works at NTU.
The Youth Olympic Village will occupy some 55 hectares of land.
That's about the size of 80 football fields.
And the 5000 athletes and officials will be staying at NTU's hostels which have been spruced up.
Unlike previously, dark brown curtains now block out the sunlight from the rooms.
And when the weather gets too warm, all they need to do is to turn on the air-conditioner which wasn't there before.
Pung Chin Hong is an NTU student who's been enjoying the spruced up facilities.
"My previous hall is not under any renovation so it's quite old, the facilities are not new, everything's not new whereas in this hall, everything is new, it's like the room is newly renovated, new beds, curtains, wardrobes, air con. Have you been using the aircon? Yes, every night. It costs about two dollars per night, so if you share it with your roommate, it's about one dollar each, you times it over 20 days that you stay over for a month, so it's about 20 per month."
From now till May, the remaining tasks to be carried out include refurbishment, upgrading and painting for some hall blocks, and installing air-conditioners.
Ms Lim says some 85 percent of upgrading works at the NTU site have been completed.
"The training facilities are upgraded to meet the IF requirements, and at the same time, we have in mind to leave all the training facilities as legacies for the students to enjoy after the games. We actually work very closely with NIE and NTU to schedule it during the school holidays only to minimise disruptions to the students."
During the Games, the village will be divided into two zones - the Residential Zone and the Village Square.
As its name suggests, the Residential Zone will be where the athletes and officials live.
There'll also be recreational facilities like games rooms and internet centres, as well a medical clinic and doping control stations within the area.
Martin Chan is the Head of Village Accomodation Operations
"The daily operations of the residential zone will be managed by a workforce from organising committee, as well as volunteers from the committees. Together, these group of workforce will see to the day to day operations on a 24 hour basis, they'll be working on a three shift system, the morning shift, afternoon shift and midnight shift and working in very close collaboration with the NTU hall officers and staff of the respective halls."
But the heart of the Youth Olympic Village, according to officials, is really at the Village Square.
This area mostly falls within the National Institute of Education campus, which is located within NTU.
Ms Lim elaborates.
"The village will be transformed into a lively and vibrant place for the athletes and the officials, a home away from home for them to rest and get recharged for the competition. They can expect to have retail outlets here, for example, bank, SingPost will be coming in, DBS bank, as well as maybe haircut facilities, and of course dining hall facilities and recreational facilities as well."
And because cultural education is an integral part of the Games, booths will be set up within the Village Square to introduce the athletes to the diverse cultures of the participating countries.
Plans are also afoot for the United Nations Children's Fund and United Nations Environment Programme to set up exhibition booths within the area.
But what about the security of the athletes and officials?
The YOG committee was tight-lipped about its security measures when asked.
But Mr Chan promised that there'll be adequate security for the smooth running of the Games.
"Security will be very tight, we're working very closely with security agencies, including the Singapore Police Force, and the existing security agencies of NTU, there'll be stringent checks put in place at most of the screening areas. There will be security patrols within the perimeter of the YOV, whereby security personnel will be actively patrolling and ensuring that the halls are safe and secure and there are no external threats or intruders to the village."
Mr Chan added that they've made contingency plans for a wide range of unexpected events.
"Worst case scenarios would definitely be issues like natural disasters which are unforeseen and uncontrollable by us but here being Singapore, apart from the heavy rains that we get on an occasional basis, we don't foresee any other natural disasters happening but we are preparing ourselves for such contingencies and emergencies."
The Youth Olympic Village is scheduled to have its official opening on the 10th of August, which is four days before the start of the Games.
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