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Will the warm-up pool meet March completion date?
By Rawle Welch
With a projected closing cost set in the region of $675M, the question being asked is when local swimmers will finally get to use the facilities at the National Aquatic Centre, situated at Liliendaal, East Coast Demerara.
The location which is home to an Olympic-size Swimming Pool has been plagued by numerous issues including massive cost overruns, design and engineering difficulties and shifting deadlines since work commenced in February, 2008, a project that was touted as the brainchild of former President Bharrat Jagdeo.
The Warm Up Pool in the initial stages.
From the onset, preparatory work had to be suspended almost immediately due to design issues that developed which prompted a review of the blueprint and even though work had restarted it was stopped once again in November and that stoppage lasted until May, 2009, but even after work resumed more problems surfaced.
The constant problems caused the Ministry of Sport to consult with Fédération Internationale de Natation (FINA) in August, 2009 and it was then that Germany-based Myrtha Pools was asked to submit a design of a pre-fabricated Pool which was met with approval from the Ministry and the company subsequently retained to undertake its installation.
However, the 50M Pool was eventually completed and commisioned by the former President in November, 2011, with the aim specifically to assist our national swimmers’ preparations for regional and international engagements.
Since that time, they’ve not been able to benefit adequately from the existence of the facility which has been off limits to them for various reasons, while the staging of competitions has been far and few and the access to the Pool to recreational swimmers has mostly been nonexistent.
Rightfully, seeing the need to have a warmup pool, the Government decided it had to invest in its construction and after inviting bids chose D&S Construction Company as the entity responsible for preparing the site to house the ancillary expansion.
They had given a deadline of March to complete the assignment with an engineer’s estimated cost being touted in the vicinity of $38.7M.
Kaieteur Sport visited the location yesterday and while not being allowed to enter the compound it was clear that unless work is significantly progressed, the March deadline will not be met thereby causing another delay in the use of the Pool.
A close assessment of the work done so far revealed unless efforts are intensified meeting the announced time limit will prove difficult.
With the 2016 Rio Olympics just over two years way, any hope of our swimmers maximising the opportunity to hone their skills in a facility that has the standard requirement as the Games will be dashed.
Too many of our sports facilities are not being fully utilised and it is placing our athletes at a great disadvantage so unless a structured programme is formulated that will allow the constant use of them then the whole purpose of their construction will be in vain.
The synthetic track at Leonora is another example of being behind schedule and the repeated patchy excuses of its delay in completion will not suffice.
These delays, while it should not be used as the principal defense for the unacceptable behaviour our youths have been displaying recently, a case could be made to show that in the absence of programmes and opportunities to use the facilites it leaves enough room for them to get involved in undesirable activities that are felt by the whole society.
Many studies have attested to the negative consequences that could be derived from youths not being constructively engaged so it is incumbent on the relevant bodies to have the facilities completed on time and make them available to all.
It will serve as an incentive to untangle them from the quagmire that they face regularly in the absence of opportunities during their leisure time. It is all part of nation building.
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