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President commissions $91M floodlights at Albion Sports Complex
By Leon Suseran
President Donald Ramotar last evening commissioned the $91M floodlight project at the Albion Sports Complex on the Corentyne. He was assisted by Guyanese Cricket Legend, Mr. Clive Lloyd; Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy; Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports, Dr. Frank Anthony; Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo), Mr. Raj Singh; Estate Manager of Albion Estate, Mr. Dev Kumar and Region Six Chairman, Mr. David Armogan.
President Ramotar in the company of other officials, unveils the plaque before switching on the lights to the Albion Sports Complex floodlights last evening.
The $91M project got underway a few months ago and saw the erection of six towers with seventeen luminaries on each pole, totaling 102 -1500 watts bulbs being powered by Guyana Power and Light (GPL) Inc. A high power generator is expected to be acquired in the near future.
The massive project was completed in several phases.
The first phase included the supply of the equipment to provide the floodlights; phase two included the actual construction which entails placing of the foundation and erection of towers; while the third phase saw the project come into being with the installation of all the imported equipment and powering of the system.
To oversee the management and operations of the ground and new light project, a Management Committee was put in place. Its members comprise Veemen Walters, Omesh Shrikishun, Anil Beharry, Imran Saccoor and Pawaan Baldeo, CEO of the Albion Sports Complex.
Dr. Anthony noted how long Berbicians had to wait for the lights to come into being, “and to enjoy lights at Albion.”
“We know that you are passionate about cricket, and from the history of Berbice, the players that you have produced over the years, without these players, we would not have been the kind of champion country in cricket that we are.”
Investment in players, therefore, is crucial to improve the quality of players we have. He described the Albion lighting project “as a true investment.”
“This has been a really substantial investment we have made. The lights and towers that you see cost us close to $110M and we feel that this is a good investment because we want to see players emerging from here and people utilizing these lights.”
Mr. Lloyd was quite pleased about the lights that now illuminate the popular cricket ground. He named some of his colleagues with whom he played right there at Albion. “This is a stepping stone to greater things in Guyana, and I hope with the lights here, in the not too distant future we would have more Test matches here; more CPL here for Guyana.”
Players get ready to play for the first time under floodlights
President Ramotar said that lights at the ground will be used to carry on various kinds of activities. He noted the changing times of cricket these days.
“Cricket is changing in its nature, and therefore, if Berbice is to continue playing an important role and making an important contribution to Guyana and West Indies cricket, we need to put the infrastructure in place to deal with the changing nature of the game itself, and thus, these lights are extremely important in that regard.”
More John Trims, Rohan Khanais, Kallicharrans, Lloyds and Fredericks can be produced, he said. “Berbice has always produced a rich crop of cricketers for us.” He linked the development of cricket to the sugar industry in Guyana.
“It was thanks to sugar that we were able to produce the many cricketers in this county, and we see the industry very important—and it has played a historically important part in our economy.”
He hopes that the facility, the first of its kind in Region Six, can be used to bring international sports to the county, “so that we can inspire our youths to have healthy role models.”
“I hope you will care these facilities so that they will continue to produce more and more sportsmen and women of international standards,” the President stated.
After President Ramotar unveiled the plaque and switched on the lights, the final of yesterday’s T20 match between Albion and Port Mourant was then played under floodlights, after the Guyanese leader bowled the first ball.
Trophies for the winners of the matches in the competition were donated by Anirud Construction Services.
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