SINGAPORE — Keeping a close watch on how much is spent for Singapore’s hosting of the 2015 South-east Asian (SEA) Games will be a key priority, said Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Lawrence Wong.

The Games will be the first major multi-sport event the Republic will stage since the inaugural Youth Olympic Games in 2010, which drew intense public flak after its initial budget of US$75 million (S$104 million at that time) rose to S$387 million.

But Wong, who is also Chairman of the Steering Committee for the Singapore SEA Games Organising Committee (SINGSOC), told TODAY the organisers are determined the issue is better managed this time.

“We’re making sure and paying a lot of attention to this aspect to make sure whatever we do for the SEA Games in 2015, we plan properly and make sure we get good value for the expenditure that we incur. That’s something we’re clearly very focused on in the steering committee,” he said.

The budget is being worked out and will require parliamentary approval, but Wong stressed that unlike the Youth Olympics — which was a completely new event on an international scale — Singapore can leverage on how past SEA Games were organised.

“In the Youth Olympics — I wasn’t involved then — the first figure was a very early estimate on the basis of very preliminary planning for a Games that was done for the very first time ... but as they worked through it, they realised more was needed,” he said.

He also added: “But it’s not quite the same comparison between the SEA Games and the Youth Olympics. That was something that was done for the first time by Singapore and we didn’t have any benchmarks to go by. With the SEA Games, we’ve many benchmarks to look at ... (and) standard templates of how you run the SEA Games.”

The 2015 SEA Games, which coincides with the lead-up to Singapore’s 50th birthday on Aug 9, will be the first time the Republic is hosting the biennial event since 1993.

It will feature 30 sports — although that number is expected to rise subject to criteria such as the SEA Games charter, feedback from SEA Games Federation members, and how well sports that are lobbying to be included are organised and followed within Singapore.

The main venue will be the S$1.33 billion Sports Hub, which will be ready by April with the 55,000-seater National Stadium as its centrepiece. The estimated 7,000 athletes from 11 ASEAN nations will also be housed in hotels.

In February, the Games’ official mascot, theme and logo will be unveiled, and SINGSOC aims to attract up to 15,000 volunteers for the 2015 Games, running from June 5 to 16.

Singapore finished sixth out of 11 nations at the Myanmar Games with 34 gold, 29 silver and 45 bronze medals, with unexpected wins, including from rower Saiyidah Aisyah (women’s 2,000m lightweight singles sculls). But her victory saw the Singapore Sports Council criticised for not sufficiently supporting her.

Speaking on Channel NewsAsia’s Singapore Connect last night, Wong said athletes who receive less support should persist, adding that as the Minister in charge of sports, he will continue asking for more funds for sports.