"It is official today. All cooperation agreements have been signed and government support has been realized," Youth and Sports Minister Dito Ariotedjo informed after the agreement signing here on Thursday.
The agreement was signed by the ministry, the Indonesian National Sports Committee (KONI), and the 2024 Aceh-North Sumatra National Sports Week (PON) Grand Committee.
Ariotedjo said that the budget allocated by the government for the PON will be used for meeting a number of primary needs, for example, Rp176 billion (US$10.6 million) of the total budget will be used for the competition.
Of the total competition budget, Rp72 billion will go to Aceh, Rp74 billion to North Sumatra, and Rp30 billion to support the needs of committees, supervisors, and judges, and to meet legal fees.
Then, the budget for the opening ceremony in Aceh will be Rp60 billion, and the closing ceremony in North Sumatra Rp41 billion.
In addition, the budget needed for tournament facilities in Aceh amounts to Rp138 billion, and for North Sumatra, Rp101 billion.
Ariotedjo expressed the hope that with the signing of the budget cooperation agreement, all parties can work together, support each other, and synergize to realize a successful PON.
It is hoped that PON would be successful in four aspects — implementation, achievements, administration, and regional economic improvement, he added.
"This is a very valuable opportunity, where we all support the advancement of national sports achievements," he said.
The minister also said he expects PON implementation this year to mark a new history because this is the first time that the competition will be held in two provinces.
The Aceh-North Sumatra PON will take place from September 8–20, 2024, and will feature 67 sports, of which 33 sports will be competed in Aceh and 34 in North Sumatra.
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Translator: Aloysius L, Kenzu
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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