Turkeyen Aquatic Complex on indefinite hold

Jan 03, 2009 News

The much anticipated Turkeyen Aquatic Complex is yet to materialize; and according to the Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture, Dr Frank Anthony, a lack of funding may delay this project even further.
The Turkeyen Aquatic Complex is supposed to consist of a 50-metre pool and a diving pool.
The minister explained that works on the Complex had come to a halt until the ministry could sort out financing for the project.
According to the minister, the construction of both the 50-metre pool and a diving pool was supposed to happen in two phases, first with the 50-metre pool, and the second phase would see the construction of the diving pool.
Apparently, when the engineer attached to the project conducted the necessary soil testing on the site in Turkeyen, it was discovered that, to construct these pools, piles would need to be driven.
In their original calculations, the engineers had, in the first phase, only calculated for piles for whatever they were going to build in the first phase. In the subsequent phases, the additional piles would have been put down for the additional structures.
More recent investigation proved that it did not make sense to put down the piles at different times, since if piles were driven for the diving pool after the construction of the 50-metre pool had been completed, the action would destroy the foundations of the diving pool.
The engineers attached to this project are currently advising the ministry that the piles for both structures should be driven simultaneously.
The Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture had said that this is an expense for which it did not budget.
Some put the new cost at $800 million
“Right now, we don’t have that type of money,” Dr Anthony said. He added that things would be put on hold until the necessary funding had been worked out.
Speaking with some of the staffers of the ministry, they said that the delay should not matter much, as there were presently many pools (of floodwater) on the East Coast Demerara.