PARIS, France — With only 18 months until the 2024 Olympics, Paris is rushing to complete construction work.
Delays are occurring due to the impact of Russia’s war in Ukraine on the steel industry.
A venue that was supposed to be finished this summer will not be finished until the beginning of next year — just a few months before the Paris Games begin on July 26, 2024.
Badminton and rhythmic gymnastics will be held at the Porte de la Chapelle arena in Paris, a multicultural and working-class neighborhood. The facilities will be used again during the Paralympics before being handed over to local clubs and schools.
The steel for the arena was supposed to be supplied by Ukraine, according to Christophe Rosa, deputy general delegate of the Paris Olympic and Paralympic delegation at Paris City Hall.
Russian Invasion Is making Things Hard In Paris.
According to the Ukrainian Steel Producers Union, output dropped by more than 70% last year due to Russia’s invasion and destruction of major plants.
“We’ve found ways to source steel from other parts of Europe, including the east, Poland, and several manufacturing plants in Southern Europe, to keep delays to a minimum and complete the works by 2023,” Rosa said Monday.
The construction will cost approximately 138 million euros ($150 million) and require 1,500 tons of steel.
The venue will be known as Adidas Arena after city hall approved a deal with the sportswear company worth around 2.8 million euros ($3 million) per year last year.
The arena will hold up to 8,000 people for sporting events and live performances and will serve as the future home of the Paris Basketball Club.
More To Be renovated And Not Built.
According to Paris City Hall, two gymnasiums adjacent to the venue will provide much-needed sports facilities in one of the capital’s poorest areas. Hundreds of migrants and asylum seekers have lived in squalid conditions in makeshift camps regularly cleared by police in recent years.
The facilities will host badminton and weightlifting events during the Paralympics and will later be used for practice by a wheelchair basketball club.
“It’s the only venue we have to build in Paris for the Olympic Games,” Eve Brunelle, equipment project manager at the Paris Olympic and Paralympic delegation at city hall, explained. “Many are being renovated, including training grounds for the Games.”
Other major construction projects include the Olympic Village, which will house approximately 15,000 athletes and officials, and the swimming pool, located in the suburbs north of Paris.
SOURCE – (AP)
