G$77M expended to resurface Leonora track- Sport Minister

Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport Charles Ramson Jr. on Wednesday morning announced that resurfacing of the synthetic track at Leonora, West Coast Demerara, has been completed at a cost of G$77 million.

The facility is now available for use by athletes, and will be the Track and Field venue for the upcoming National Schools Championship.

Minister Ramson was accompanied by Director of Sport, Steve Ninvalle, on a site visit to the facility where he made the announcements.

The resurfacing was done by BSW Regopul of Germany, the same company that had installed the synthetic material back in 2014.

According to the Sport Minister, “a significant sum” was expended on getting the track back to its original state.

“But what is also important is that Guyana could have gotten this (the resurfacing) for free,” Ramson highlighted, adding that the track was under warranty until 2019 and the previous administration “did not seize the opportunity to have this relaid.”

“Now the country and the Guyanese people had to pay $77 million just to resurface this.”

“We know the importance of having this resurfacing happen, because we had to postpone one of our premier international meets (this year) because of the condition the track was in, that it did not meet the international standard.”

Now that the resurfacing has been completed, local athletes can have access to the facility to conduct their training, like they did before.

“In addition, and probably most importantly for the schools, is that it will become available for the National Championship (in November).”

Minister Ramson further highlighted that there will be continued investment in the facilities at Leonora as Guyana looks to modernise it sporting infrastructure.

The Leonora Track and Field Centre is the main facility for athletics events. International football is also hosted at the venue.