?The Government admitted yesterday that it could not say what would be the final cost of the Tarouba Sporting Complex in south Trinidad or when it would be completed.
This is according to Sports Minister Gary Hunt, while responding to a question on the Order Paper in the House of Representatives yesterday. The question was posed by Caroni Central MP Dr Hamza Rafeeq, who wanted to know:
�2 The projected cost of the entire project.
�2 The amount of money already spent on it.
�2 The expected completion date.
�2 The projected annual cost of maintenance of the complex after completion of construction.
Hunt was not in a position to answer Rafeeq's concerns about the final cost or completion date. The complex, which originally comprised the Brian Lara Cricket Stadium and the Brian Lara Cricket Academy, was initially projected to cost $275 million. Hunt said yesterday: "It is not feasible to give a projected cost for the entire sporting complex and all the planned infrastructure as the user brief for all sporting infrastructure is not yet complete." He gave a similar answer with respect to the completion date for the project. "It is not feasible to give the completion date for the entire sporting complex," he said.
Hunt also confirmed that some $700 million had been spent on the project, which was being managed by the Urban Development Corporation of T&T (Udecott). He gave a breakdown:
�2 Site works, drainage, roads and utilities–$108,697,537 (plus Vat).
�2 Stadium structure–$419,536,998 (Vat exclusive).
�2 Project design, project management, construction management, consultants, Osha, security and site office–$103,687,327.
He also said it was "not feasible to give a projected maintenance cost of the entire sporting complex, as the user brief for each component of the planned complex is not yet complete." Hunt revealed that "hotel accommodation" would be among the 13 facilities being constructed at the complex. He said an energy and technology park, an elite centre of excellence for sport science/ sports medicine, an aquatic centre, a centre for field/house sports (basketball, netball, volleyball and badminton) and a boxing and martial arts centre would also be constructed on the 627-acre site.