By Neto Baptiste
The construction of a national aquatic centre in Antigua remains stalled as government and the national swimming federation debates the way forward regarding alterations to already established architectural drawings.
This is according to Sports Minister, Daryll Matthew, who said discussions are ongoing with the federation as they have asked for a specific design team to handle the project a year and a-half after the groundbreaking ceremony in Tomlinson’s
“We are having a bit of a discussion regarding some new drawings the swimming association wanted to have and the architect or design team they wanted to do the drawings and so that is really where we are.
“I want to get this thing off as quickly as possible but I work along with the association and they have indicated that they want a particular architect and design company to do the drawings as opposed to the ones we already have and so that’s where we are,” he said.
The Aquatic Centre was promoted in December as the place where young Antiguans and Barbudans can develop their swimming skills and talents in a space of international standard.
And while those plans remain, Matthew is concerned about who will foot the bill for this new design team.
“We are of the view that we have architects here in Antigua and Barbuda who have already produced a set of drawings and if it there are certain specifications that are required for the pool, we have no difficulty having our architects re-engage and put things in place as for the specifications the association wants.
“One of the things they said is that the architects have not always been available to them and they have set meetings that, perhaps, have not come off and so their preference is to try and use an architect of their choosing who specializes in designing pools and facilities and we are trying to see how we can find a medium between both objectives. Fundamentally, we have no difficulties, we just want to get it done right,” the minister said.
Government broke ground at the proposed site for the project back in December 2022 but there has been no physical progress since then.
The original layout of the aquatic centre was tipped to feature a 25-meter 10-lane competition pool with a warm-up pool, a gym, two spectator stands with a 600-person capacity, and facilities for both male and female competitors.
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