REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, SINGAPORE - The Olympic Council of Asia must move fast to find a replacement city to host the 2019 Asian Games, International Olympic Committee Vice President Ng Ser Miang told Reuters on Friday, but ruled out his suitable Singapore homeland as an option.

"With the process of selecting a city and preparing the city for the Games, time is of essence as we are only five years away," Ng said in a statement sent to Reuters. "We are putting all our resources and energy to ensure a successful SEA Games. A bid for 2019 Asian Games is not on the cards at the moment."

Vietnam's government announced their surprise decision on Thursday to quit as hosts of the event in their capital Hanoi, citing a lack of preparedness and concerns that holding the multi-sport event for the first time would not prove financially viable.

Although Vietnam's 155 billion USD economy is in recovery and annual growth of more than five percent is expected in the next few years, it faces many deep-rooted problems, including weak infrastructure, one of Asia's highest levels of bad debt and a state sector mired in graft and inefficiency.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung held a meeting with officials on Thursday and concluded it was better to opt out now, because poor preparation could damage Vietnam's reputation and that the state budget could be invested "in other very urgent tasks."

Wealthy Singapore will host the much smaller SEA Games in 2015 for 11 Southeast Asian countries in their soon to open 1 billion USD sports hub, which includes a 55,000 seat stadium, and 6,000 capacity aquatics center, but were not seeking any extra work load at short notice.

Hanoi was awarded the Games in November 2012 ahead of the Indonesian city of Surabaya but the cost of hosting the event, which economists have estimated could be as high as 500 million USD, was an issue.

Indonesia's concern

Indonesian Olympic officials also voiced concerns about the likely increased price when asked if they were interested in rebidding.

"We have to realize that budgeting to host such an event will be different by now," Indonesia Olympic Committee chairperson Rita Subowo told Reuters via telephone.

"The government of Indonesia may be ready to take over, but what about the hosting city? We are happy that Surabaya is the hosting city of the 2021 Asian Youth Games, but we will discuss about 2019."

The Asian Games, which was held for the first time in 1951, has grown to consist of around 40 sports with athletes from 45 countries taking part putting pressure on host nations to build infrastructure and accommodation as well as stadiums. It will be held in Incheon, South Korea this year after China hosted the last edition and wealthy Qatar before them in 2006.

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