Highlights of IOC Evaluation Commission assessment on Almaty 2022

Following are the highlights of IOC Evaluation Commission's assessment on Almaty 2022 which was released on Monday:

Strengths:

The compact concept and venue plan would provide a good athlete experience, operational and cost efficiency and low environmental impacts;

Olympic Villages well-located and would meet all needs, with limited environmental impact;

Abundant natural snow reduces water and energy requirements for artificial snow;

Infrastructure investment would contribute to physical and economic legacy;

Compact plan and use of several existing venues allows cost-efficient operations;

Strong knowledge base for all the Nordic sports/disciplines and speed skating;

Experience from hosting previous regional and international events, including planned 2017 Winter Universiade.

Challenges:

The site conditions and private land ownership could add complexity and cost to roadway improvements and construction of base areas at the Tabagan and Almatau venues;

Completion of the sliding track 16 months before the Games would present a challenge in terms of homologation, testing and familiarization;

Changing market conditions could impact securing private investors and developers though the Olympic Villages are underwritten by public authorities;

Scale of the plan to address poor air quality is significant and requires total commitment and funding;

Effective Games time mitigation measures may be needed to reduce negative impact on Games participants;

Need to ensure protection of sensitive mountain environments in the mountain zone in accordance with the National Park designation;

Absorption of new housing units post-Games could be challenging if market conditions deteriorate;

Expansion of winter sports resorts and hosting events in the mountain zone would require sensitivity to ecological impacts;

Economic factors, including low oil prices and exchange rate issues, could negatively impact Games preparations and the government's capacity to provide financial and other support;

The expense side of the OCOG operational budget requires further development and alignment with operational planning;

Shortage of skilled workforce for disciplines other than Nordic sports and speed skating would require a sizeable investment in international experts, workforce recruitment and training.

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