SINGAPORE, May 15 — Singapore, still stung by the vast overspend of hosting the inaugural Youth Olympics in 2010, are confident next month's Southeast Asian Games will come in on budget after a boost in sponsorship.

Toh Boon Yi, part of the local organising committee for the June 5-16 biennial Games, told reporters yesterday that costs would stay within S$324.5 million (RM875.8m) after initial sponsorship targets of S$50 million had been exceeded.

“Thankfully, we're now in a slightly more comfortable position because of the sponsorship amount we've raised,” Toh said after another partner came on board to boost sponsor income past S$70 million.

“As in all projects, it's important to have good financial discipline and framework, and we've applied all these to the running of the SEA Games.”

Singapore spent close to S$400 million on the first Youth Olympics in 2010, more than three times initial budget figures, drawing some locals to label the event a waste of money. — Reuters