Minister for Sports, Culture and the Arts, Fisheries and Co-operatives Honourable Yolande Bain-Horsford said her government is committed to ensuring that the Grenada National Stadium remains intact for local athletes to prepare themselves for the international stage and compete at a first-class facility.
Her comment was made during a visit to the Kirani James Athletics Stadium on Thursday, 25 March 2021, to witness first-hand the progress of the maintenance work undertaken by an 8-man technical team from The People’s Republic of China.
Accompanying the Minister was Permanent Secretary with responsibility for Sports and Culture Ann Isaac; Acting Coordinator of Sports Kerlon Peters; General Manager of the Grenada National Stadium Shurla Harris-Fields; and Project Manager of the Chinese Technical Cooperation Project for the Kirani James Athletics Stadium Zhang Xuefu.
Minister Bain-Horsford said that she was impressed with the progress and quality of the work being done on the athletics stadium. She stated that the maintenance and development of the stadium is very important for the development of local athletes.
She also expressed thanks to the Chinese Government for their dedication and continued support given towards the development of sports in Grenada, over the years. In September 2020, the People’s Republic of China donated over 9 containers of engineering materials, valued at EC$1.5 million, to the Government of Grenada. The materials were for maintenance and repair work on the Kirani James Athletics Stadium as part of the China Aid Technical Cooperation Project.
Project Manager of the Chinese Technical Cooperation Project for the Kirani James Athletics Stadium, Zhang Xuefu, said that the maintenance work is 50% complete. The maintenance work completed thus far includes the replacement of all damaged doors and windows, the installation of about 800 square metres of carpet in the dressing rooms, repairs to the electrical, sound and lighting systems, repairs to the video board, among others.
The maintenance work on the Kirani James Athletics Stadium is scheduled to be completed in December 2021.
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