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Panamerican Games costing $290 million - Dominican leader


SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, April 23 (Reuters) -
Construction costs for August's Panamerican Games, to be held in
the Dominican Republic, have soared above estimates and will
cost some $200 million, the government said on Wednesday.
President Hipolito Mejia said the last estimate for
investment in infrastructure had been around $150 million.
In addition, the two-week regional games, which start on
August 1, will cost about $90 million to stage, Mejia told
reporters. He did not give details of how the costs for the
event are being funded.
Most of the construction in the Caribbean nation of about
8.5 million people is taking place in Santo Domingo, while some
events are taking place in Santiago, 100 miles (160 km) north
of the capital. Mejia has said all the facilities will be
completed by June.
((Writing by Frances Kerry; Editing by Pritha Sarkar; Reuters
Messaging: [e-mail]; Miami
newsroom, [phone] or e-mail [e-mail]))



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Apr-23-2003 15:09 GMT
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