Amid ongoing speculation over whether the VIP section of the Dashrath Stadium, the primary venue to host the opening and closing ceremony of the upcoming South Asian Games, would be ready in time for the games, the material for the roof arrived on Tuesday. The roof will now be built in two weeks, according to Arun Upadhyaya, chief of the Engineering Section at the National Sports Council.

“Once technicians from the Chinese company that is building the roof arrive on Sunday, it will only take a week to install the roof," said Upadhyaya. “The installation will begin on Monday.”

The current state of Dashrath Stadium, where no games have been played since it was damaged in the 2015 earthquakes, had led many to worry whether the primary venue for the South Asian Games, to be held from December 1 to 10, will be ready.

“The tensile fibre for the roof arrived in Kathmandu today from China,” said Sports Minister Jagat Sunar Bishwokarma. The material for the roof was brought to Nepal via air cargo, as just 19 days remain for the games.

Already, Nepal’s World Cup and Asia Cup joint qualifiers against Kuwait will be held in Bhutan, a neutral venue, on November 19, as the Asian Football Confederation found the stadium unfit to host Nepal’s home game.

Bishwokarma has himself taken a lead role in expediting the construction of the VIP parapet. He remained at the stadium until midnight on Saturday and Sunday to oversee the erection of steel pillars at the parapet. All 19 pillars were erected on Tuesday.

“Installing the truss and chairs are the only major works remaining now for the VIP stand. Installing the truss will not take more than four days,” said Bishwokarma. “We already have chair and they only need to be fixed. Once the roof work is over they will be placed" said Bishwokarma.

Apart from the Dashrath Stadium, the completion of a heated swimming pool was another major concern ahead of the games. Bishwokarma is confident that the swimming pool too will be ready in a week’s time.

“We are in the last phase of the construction of the swimming pool,” he said. “Everything relating to infrastructure will be in place by November 23. Now our main focus will be to organise the games successfully as it is a matter of national pride.”

Despite being damaged in 2015, renovation work at the Dashrath Stadium only began a year ago. Nepal brought home the flag for the South Asian Games, pledging to host the 13th edition of the sporting event, in 2016. As hosts, Nepal have postponed the event four times in the past, owing to infrastructure damaged by the earthquake.

A meeting of the South Asian Olympic Council on Sunday in Kathmandu ended speculation over whether the 13th edition of the games would be held in December or postponed once again. The meeting confirmed that the games would be held on the scheduled dates.

The South Asian Games, which will feature a total of 26 events, will bring together around 3,000 athletes from seven countries of South Asia.