TOKYO: Tokyo will build a new volleyball arena for the 2020 Olympics in the capital rather than using an existing facility in nearby Yokohama despite being under pressure to cut costs, the city government said on Friday.

The construction of the Ariake Arena was part of the original plans for the Games but taken under review as the price tag for many venues soared after Tokyo won the race to host the Games in 2013.

Tokyo 2020 organisers have vowed to keep costs below $20 billion but the International Olympic Committee feels even that amount is too high.

City governor Yuriko Koike had proposed moving volleyball, swimming and canoe sprint to existing venues outside the capital, but has now agreed that facilities for all three will be built in the city as originally planned. The final decision on the volleyball arena is expected to be made Dec. 21 during a teleconference of a four-party working group reviewing costs of the 2020 Olympics.

“We will be able to slash some 40 billion yen ($338 million)” while building the venues, Koike told a press conference. Construction costs for the volleyball venue will be cut by 16 percent, she said.

Published in Dawn, December 17th, 2016