India to spend $2 bln on Commonwealth Games

A total of two billion U.S. dollars is estimated to be spent on the Commonwealth Games that will be held in June 2010 in New Delhi, organizers said here on Saturday.

Sindhushree Khular, India's minister of youth, told reporters on the second day of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in the capital of Trinidad and Tobago that the budget was much larger than originally planned due to an expansion in the number of venues.

"The original budget estimate was low, the same thing that happened in Glasgow and in London," Kular said, referring to Glasgow's 2014 plan to host the Commonwealth Games and London's 2010 plan to host the Olympics.

"When we made the budget we thought there would be 10 functional areas. We now had to raise the number to 34."

India has not hosted a major sporting event since the Asian Games in 1982 and many of its venues need substantial upgrades to meet the Commonwealth Games standards.

The Indian government is funding the Commonwealth Games and will gain revenues from broadcasting rights sales and sponsorship, said Suresh Kalmadi, head of the Commonwealth Games Organizing Committee.

"Television sponsorship will double what we had originally expected," said Suresh.

"In order to achieve this, the Games will hold key events to match the time zone of their key audiences. Athletics events will be held in U.K. time for instance," he added.

Kalmadi also said that a successful Commonwealth Games could serve as a platform for a bid for the Olympic Games or soccer's World Cup.