Guyana’s under-construction synthetic track at Leonora still remains in phase one after a year and one month since the contract was awarded to Courtney Benn Contracting Services Limited.
The synthetic track has three phases and phase one, which deals with setting up the foundation and the drainage and irrigation systems, was expected to last six months, according to Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport Dr. Frank Anthony at a press conference early last year.
However, owing to bad weather in December 2010 and the early part of last year the process was slowed to some extent, extending the estimated six-month period.
In a report in this newspaper on October 8th, 2011 Anthony was quoted as saying that phase one of the track was completed and the German-based BSW Regupol which was awarded a $93,000,000 contract for phase two which included the laying of the rubberized surface would have commenced work shortly.
“We have completed the first phase. Very shortly the German company Regupol will be coming in to start laying the surface and after we finish that we go to building that structure around. The first is finished and we go to the next phase.
“Engineers from Regupol were here a month ago on a visit. They looked at the site and they have gone back now to start getting their engineers to do the surface,” Anthony disclosed on October 8th to Stabroek Sport.
However, such a development could not be substantiated on the ground when Stabroek Sport visited the Leonora site yesterday.
Greeted by a security guard who gave his name as Renee, Stabroek Sport was disallowed from entering the premises and had to resort to taking photos of the foundation of the track from the top of an elevated water tank on the premises of the Leonora Secondary School directly in front of the track.
However, according to the President of the Athletics Association of Guyana, Colin Boyce, government hopes that the track will be ready for the National Schools Championships in November this year.
