PyeongChang '18 Olympic Preparations Ahead Of Schedule, Estiamted Finish Date Oct. '16

The city of PyeongChang in South Korea "has gotten off to a fast start in gearing up for the 2018 Winter Olympics" since it won the right to host the event for the first time in July '11, according to Kang Seung-woo of the KOREA TIMES. Bidding committee co-Chair Kim Jin-sun said, "Since bringing the Winter Games to Korea last year, we have laid the foundations and the road map for the successful hosting of the event in accordance with our vision of transforming Gangwon Province into a winter tourism hub in East Asia." Out of the 13 competition venues, seven already exist for alpine skiing, ski jumping, cross country skiing, biathlon, freestyle skiing, snowboarding and curling. The facilities for bobsleigh, skeleton luge, figure skating and short track speed skating, speed skating and ice hockey will be newly built. A budget of 19.8B won ($18.4M) "has been set aside this year for design work, which has already begun." Construction is "expected to be completed by Oct. '16" (KOREA TIMES, 12/24).