Bhubaneswar, June 11: The state government is leaving no stone unturned in successfully hosting the Asian Athletics Championships, to be held between July 6 and 9.

The government has expedited work on developing infrastructure at the Kalinga Stadium here for the continent's flagship athletics meet. The process of erecting towers for installation of floodlights here is close to completion. The executing agency has already completed re-laying the synthetic track at the stadium and the authorities are hopeful of completing all related works before the scheduled time.

While the erection of three towers for the floodlights has already been completed, work on the fourth tower will be complete in a day or two, said an official. Two of the towers are 59m high while the other two are of 55m. According to the agreement with the private firm, 448 bulbs imported from Italy would be installed in the towers. The lux level (index to measure light intensity) of the floodlights will be 2,000, which will be of the highest standard in the state. The agreement also mandates that the private firm will also be responsible for maintenance work.

The state government has set aside a budget of Rs 43 crore for the Asian Athletics Championship. Sports department officials said the installation of floodlights would be completed by the June 15 deadline. The work to replace the old plastic chairs in the stands is also being carried out on a priority basis along with beautification of the stadium. The painting of walls and others portions of the stadium have also been completed.

"We are hopeful of completing all the work by June 15 and around 200 people have been working relentlessly to finish the work. The rain induced by the low pressure over the Bay of Bengal over the past few days have affected the beautification work, but we are hopeful of completing the work this week," said a sports department official.

The roadshow of the championship mascot, Olly, representing the famous olive ridley sea turtle, will start from tomorrow. Chief minister Naveen Patnaik will flag off the roadshow, which will cover all the 30 districts by July 2, from the stadium.

"Bhubaneswar will host the Men's Hockey World League Final in November and the men's Hockey World Cup in December 2018. If we manage to successfully host the Asian Athletics Championship, the state will establish itself as a major destination for international sporting events," said a sports department official.

A sports department official said nearly 800 athletes from 45 countries were expected to take part in the event. The winners would directly qualify for the World Championships in London, scheduled between August 4 and 13. This will be the third time that the event will be held in India. The championship was held for the first time in New Delhi in 1989 and Pune in 2013.