India’s government has reported that 12 of the 17 construction projects for the 2010 New Delhi Commonwealth Games are less than half-completed.
Reuters reports that the junior sports minister told parliament the city faced a race against time to get the construction completed by the time the Games start on October 3 next year. Rising costs of steel, cement and labour have affected building progress, and are predicted to force a 6 to 8 per cent increase in the planned $1.6 billion budget.
The minister, Pratik Prakashbapu Patil, said he was confident the venues would be ready before the Games.
