The government is seeking to keep construction costs of the new National Stadium for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics below ¥160 billion, after scrapping the initial design because cost estimates had snowballed to ¥252 billion, government sources said Saturday.

But the envisioned ceiling, which is to be decided possibly on Aug. 28 or 31, is still higher than the initially estimated cost of ¥130 billion in 2012 for the main Olympics stadium, reflecting rising material prices and personnel costs.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe scrapped the initial building plan in July amid a public outcry over its ¥252 billion price tag and ordered the project to start from scratch. The original design was the work of Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid's firm.