Japan was set to approve on Friday guidelines for its new Olympic stadium, with local media reporting cost estimates are unlikely to be included and construction would not start until at least a year later than planned.

Japan scrapped its original plan for the new National stadium last month in the face of widespread outrage after costs ballooned to $2.1 billion, nearly twice original estimates - an unusual move for an Olympic host city this late in the process.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) signed off on the decision for the stadium, centerpiece of the 2020 Summer Olympics, but it has also said it will be part of the new stadium tender to make sure things stay on track. {ID:nL1N10C08Z]

The guidelines, to be approved by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and other officials, will emphasize cost-cutting measures such as keeping a number of seats temporary, media reports said.

Management of the stadium is likely to be taken over by a private firm after the Olympics.

Construction will not begin until at least the end of 2016 and possibly even later, the reports added. Construction was originally set to begin at the end of 2015 and be finished in March 2019.

Cost estimates will be set in a later plan to be released later this month or early in September, but officials have said their aim is to do everything as cheaply as possible, including having a roof over spectator seats only.

The stadium will be built to host rugby, athletics and soccer, leaving Japan with the ability to bid for World Cup soccer in the future, the reports said.

The required 80,000-seat capacity will be met by using temporary seats if needed to pare costs still more.

An international competition will be held to choose a new design later this year, with a decision due on both design and contractors in January 2016.

Construction will begin at the end of 2016 or early in 2017.

Japanese officials have acknowledged the original design for the stadium by U.K.-based Zaha Hadid Architects may have helped them win the Olympics, but the futuristic plan - likened to a bicycle helmet - drew fire for its grandiose size and what critics said was a lack of fit with its site.

Japan pinned blame for the ballooning price tag on the stadium design, but the architects countered that construction costs have been soaring in Tokyo, that they had made changes several times to bring costs down and that Japan's decision to scrap the plans came without any warning.

Tokyo has already paid out around 6.2 billion yen ($49.84 million) to Hadid, other architects and construction firms, prompting Abe to apologise on Monday for wasting tax money.

Preparations for the Olympics, Tokyo's second time to host the sports extravaganza, have run into hurdles on a number of fronts, including ballooning overall costs and rolling back promises of having most venues within eight kilometres of the Olympic Village.

Even the Olympic logo has become the focus of plagiarism accusations, which Japan and its designer deny.

 

reuters.com

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