The Hindu : Sport : Work on swimming complex to start again

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Sunday, Mar 06, 2005

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Sport - Sports : General

Work on swimming complex to start again

By Our Special Correspondent

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, MARCH 5. The Kerala Sports Council has announced that the unfinished work on the proposed international swimming complex in Koppam, on the outskirts of Thiruvananthapuram, will commence on Monday.

The revival of the project, that had remained suspended over the last four years due to the paucity of funds, had been in the cards for sometime now after the KSC had earlier this year signed a contract with the Cherthala-based Charangat Engineering Construction Company for the completion of the remaining work of the complex.

Conceived in June 2000, by the previous LDF regime, to tap the latent talent in Pirrapancode village (where an estimated 1,600 families are involved in the sport) and producing quality international swimmers, the work on the project had remained suspended after the State slipped into a severe financial crisis.

The project was initially estimated to cost the State's exchequer a little over Rs. 5 crores and was designed to have a 10-lane 50m swimming pool, a 20m x 25m diving pool with separate elevator-connected tiers of 1m, 3m, 5, 7.5m and 10m to conduct both springboard and highboard diving competitions and a 25m practice pool besides top class board and lodging facilities for over 200 swimmers.

The work on the project, until its suspension, had cost the KSC a little over Rs. 1.75 crores and was carried out by the Kolkata-based Hindustan Steel Construction Corporation. The new contract between the KSC and the Charangat Engineering Construction Company is said to be Rs. 3 crores. However, it is also learnt that this contract does not cover the costs required for electrification work or the setting up of the water-treatment plant.

Confirming that the work was scheduled to begin on Monday, the Charangat Engineering Construction Company managing director, C.K. Sasankan said the project would be completed within the next 10-12 months. "If the KSC is able to allot the contract amount as promised, there should be no difficulty in completing the work by this time next year."

The former KSC president, B. Balachandran, who had initiated the venture, also sounded happy on the project being revived, but expressed serious doubts on whether the project would ever be completed. "It is a good thing that the current leadership of the KSC has finally realised the aspirations of the swimmers in the State. However, from what I gather, they have only allotted Rs. 50 lakhs this year for the completion of the project. If this is true, the completion of the work could get unduly delayed."

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