– facility to include two squash courts
Three contracting companies were yesterday awarded separate contracts for building a Racquet Centre on Woodford Avenue, Georgetown which is expected to cost the Government of Guyana some $28.75m.
The centre will include two squash courts which will cost $20.35m to build.
Romell Jagroop’s General Construction Services has been given the responsibility to erect the squash courts while the surrounding bleachers will be built at a cost of $4.19m by Fyffe Building and Contracting Services.
The practice courts at a cost of $4.2m will be built by N&R Engineering and Contracting Establishment.
The squash courts have a six-month time-frame while the others have been given between two to three-months stipulated time for completion.
Speaking at yesterday’s signing of contracts at the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport building on Main Street, Sport Minister, Dr. Frank Anthony, said that this was just one part of the entire plan for the facility which will eventually have a parking lot.
Two lawn tennis courts are also planned for the facility aimed at declaring the government’s commitment to the development of sports in Guyana.
“I think this would be the first publically-owned squash court in Guyana and the development of this project, started with a discussion between the President, His Excellency Bharrat Jagdeo and the Guyana Squash Association,” said Dr. Anthony.
The plan for the squash court and the entire facility was done by Design and Construction Services Limited (DCSL) after consultation with the GSA.
“We have had detailed discussions with the Squash Association as we developed the project. The drawings were shared with them and the comments and so that they made were taken into consideration and so on, so I think they are quit satisfied with what we have,” Dr Anthony suggested.
“Just so that we don’t have any ambiguity, all the facilities that we would be developing on that site would be managed by the ministry.
“Associations would be given time to utilize it and the permission would be coming from the ministry,” the minister responsible for sport said.
Special interest will be given to national teams of the sports which will be played at the centre.
The Minister said that a number of associations use the facilities like the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall on a regular basis and normally, “they don’t pay anything for it, only when they have a special competition they would pay a rental for it.”
Anthony said renting the sports hall was not exorbitant.
“They are paying $50,000 a night to use it and that cost will then have to include the lights that we would provide and a number of other things and when we compute the numbers, we are actually subsidising the cost,” he declared.