The International Paralympic Committee is satisfied with preparations for the 2010 Paralympic Games, although issues on accommodation remain.

Work on facilities for the competitions, to be held immediately after the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, is further ahead of schedule than it was at this time for past Paralympics, IPC Chief Executive Xavier Gonzalez said.

"I can tell you we are in a very good position here," he said.

Gonzalez acknowledged that, like other groups associated with the 2010 Olympics, the IPC is struggling with the high cost of accommodation in the mountain resort community of Whistler, near Vancouver, where most Paralympic events will take place.

The Vancouver Organizing Committee had originally planned to hold all Paralympic events in Whistler, but decided in 2006 to shift sledge hockey and wheelchair curling to Vancouver to avoid the cost of building a new ice rink in Whistler.

VANOC has pledged to have all the major Olympic sporting venues built by the end of this summer so they can be tested with international events prior to the start of the Olympics in February 2010.

Reuters