Vietnamese officials have called for the government to return the right to organize the 2019 Asian Games, also known as Asiad, and pay a fine instead of hosting the event, citing exorbitant costs as the reason.

In 2012 the Olympic Council of Asia awarded Vietnam the right to organize the 2019 Asiad after the country beat Indonesia in a race.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism has said that the country will only need an estimated US$150 million to hold this multi-sport event.

Sports Minister Hoang Tuan Anh even asserted at a law-making National Assembly hearing last month that his ministry had made careful calculations before working out the estimated cost.

But many government ministries have argued that such an amount will not be enough for the competition, adding that the real fee will be multiple times that number so Vietnam should not host it.

Deputy Finance Minister Do Hoang Anh Tuan insisted at the hearing that the amount does not include the cost of building the athletes’ village, which will be at least VND2 trillion ($96.2 million).

He added that the construction of a velodrome for the track cycling event alone will probably cost another VND10 trillion ($480.8 million).

Bui Quang Vinh, Minister of Planning and Investment, told Tuoi Tre on Monday that his ministry does not support the organization of the 2019 Asiad in Vietnam, expressing his personal viewpoint that the country should not host it.

The investment ministry already sent documents to the sports ministry to confirm that $150 million will definitely not adequate for holding the Games, according to Vinh.

Vinh’s deputy, Nguyen The Phuong, has told the National Assembly that the amount will be unable to cover the cost of organizing an Asiad in the Southeast Asian country.

“Even twice that number will not be adequate either,” Phuong asserted, adding that no nation in the world has ever held an Asian Games competition at a cost of $150 million.

Former chairman of the Vietnam Olympic Committee, Ha Quang Du weighed in with his agreement that Vietnam should not take on the role of an Asiad host at the moment.

“It is not the right time now for Vietnam to think of hosting an Asiad,” Du said. 

The former chairman also rejected conjectures that holding the Games will boost tourism and increase Vietnam’s prestige on the world stage.

“People travel around the world every day. They don’t wait for an event like Asiad to be organized in a country and visit it,” Du said.

He added that Asiad is not the FIFA World Cup so it is not so attractive that a large number of travelers will flock to Vietnam to watch it.

Even Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam has recommended that Vietnam should scrap the organization of the 2019 sports competition.Tuoi Tre has learned that the Republic of Korea spent $2.9 billion on the 2002 Asiad in Busan. Qatar spent a total of $2.8 billion hosting the Asiad in Doha in 2006. China paid almost $20 billion for the 2010 Asiad, including $2.45 billion for the construction of the athletes’ village. The Republic of Korea is planning a total cost of $1.6 billion for the 2014 Asiad to be held in September in Incheon. The Vietnamese government is scheduled to convene a meeting today to decide if Vietnam should host the 2019 Asian Games given these objections.

As a common practice, Vietnam will likely be liable for a fine if the country refuses to hold the event.