MINISTER of Culture, Youth and Sport, Dr Frank Anthony, expressed his disappointment at the progress of work being done in the first of three phases, with regard to the construction of the synthetic athletics track at Leonora, West Coast Demerara, despite the intervention of the weather.
Chronicle Sport caught up with Dr Anthony, prior to the kick off of the inaugural Digicel nationwide inter-secondary school football tournament, where he voiced such sentiments.
“With regard to the first phase, we are a bit delayed as the weather which we have no control over, has intervened which means our expected timelines have been shifted and that is a bit disappointing.
“However, the consultant who has been hired on behalf of the Ministry, has been monitoring the progress of work being done so far and we have been receiving reports and updates as to where we are, but as I said we are disappointed that we have not been able to reach our original timeline,” stated Dr Anthony.
Despite the disappointment with regard to phase one of the project, Dr Anthony disclosed advertisement for bidders to execute work on the remaining two phases has begun and shortly the bids received will be opened and the contractor made known.
“We have received the bids for these two phases and we are going through the process of evaluating same. I think in the larger scheme of things, we will recover the time lost on phase one and it is not always the contractor, who got the first phase, will get the second or even third one, but we are monitoring the progress of work being done.”
He added, “It’s a lot of work, as it is developing more than 25 acres of land, which had to be raised at specific levels identified by the engineers, which meant that certain areas had to be sand-filled, while the structure for the track had to be laid out in the specific area along with the installation of culverts and bridges.
“Generally it’s a lot of work that was undertaken by the contractor who was given a specific time to complete same, which unfortunately has not been achieved and that is what is disappointing to us at the Ministry.”
Dr Anthony refused to mention any time-frame with regard to the new deadline being given for the completion of the first phase, but is confident same will be completed soon, to facilitate the second and third phases.
“I don’t wish to give any time-frame, since they don’t work out as well as we would like them to do. While in a strict contractual way when we set time-frames, there are always unforeseen circumstances which prevent same from being met.
“We may want to get it finished, but there are other things, such as the weather, added advice from the construction firm and even the consultant, would result in the deadline not being met, so it is best not to give any deadline at the moment.”
At the re-commissioning of the Colgrain Pool, Dr Anthony invited swimming clubs to apply for the use of the Camp Street facility at specific periods in preparations for engagements both on the local as well as international scene.
When asked if same would be extended to athletic clubs when the synthetic track was completed, Dr Anthony responded in the positive, adding, “At that facility, we would like to have a staff, employed by the Ministry, and also versed in the field of athletics.
“That would be so, since clubs and even athletes who do not have the required personnel, can still go and get training at the facility, with the Ministry standing the full expense for such an individual, so both clubs and athletes can have access to the venue.
“Even the general public is invited to use same to walk or jog around the track as well. Residents of the nearby communities, who are interested in keeping fit, whether it is in the morning or afternoon, can use the track to do so, since the Government is strict on fighting the cause to eradicate those non-communicable diseases that are affecting the people of our country at the moment.”
Dr Anthony further stated that both the Ministry and the Athletics Association of Guyana would be looking at hosting some international events at the venue, since it will be built according to one of the many grades of the facility worldwide.