Laying of synthetic tracks to be completed by April – Ramson Jr

…as he slammed the previous Administration for lethargy on the projects

A question posed by Opposition Member of Parliament (MP), Tabitha Sarabo-Halley regarding the two new synthetic tracks, during the ongoing Budget 2023 debate in the National Assembly on Wednesday morning, was met with a fiery response from Culture, Youth and Sport Minister Charles Ramson Jr.
Ramson Jr was at the time responding to an inquiry about when the work at the synthetic track in Linden would recommence and conclude.
In an effort to clarify that the sitting Government did not maliciously halt the project, Ramson Jr presented a series of news articles to the National Assembly, as evidence of the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Administration’s failure to even purchase the necessary synthetic material when it was announced that the tracks would be completed in October 2018.
“That was December 2019, none of that was completed and here’s the kicker. Here is the kicker, that they promised that the track would be completed. First, started by the end of 2018, then they said it would be assured that it would be completed by the end of 2019. Here’s the kicker, they never even paid for the synthetic material,” a spirited Ramson Jr told the National Assembly at the Arthur Chung Conference Center (ACCC).
The Sport Minister went on to address the alleged insinuation that the projects were halted, highlighting that upon his Ministry’s undertaking of the two projects, there were several other components to be completed before the asphalt and synthetic materials could be laid.
Ramson Jr declared, “What I consider to be repugnant is that members of the APNU/AFC have been going around telling the country, holding press conferences, etc, and saying that the People’s Progressive Party Government had stopped the project – which was a complete falsehood.
“They know better because if you examine the budget estimates – 2020, 2021, 2022, there are capital allocations for projects that needed to be concluded contained in there.”
He further stated, “And just for the sake of clarity, let me also say, that the People’s Progressive Party Government also had to complete a number of projects in order for us to get to the stage of laying the asphalt, which was completed at the end of October, early November, last year.”
Currently, the tracks at Berbice and Linden have already had the asphalting phase completed, but inclement weather halted further work.
As such, Ramson Jr told the National Assembly that the Ministry was awaiting better weather and should this persist, the laying of synthetic material would be completed by April.
“It was scheduled for November-December to complete the installation of the synthetic track, which is supposed to be no more than 30 days, but then the rain came early in November and there was a curing period that was required for the asphalt to be cured and we were unable to do it,” the Sport Minister explained about the current hindrances to the project.
Ramson Jr continued, “The other consultant has to come to supervise the laying of the synthetic material and that’s scheduled for April of this year. So, once we don’t have any weather conditions that would be disruptive during that period, the laying of the synthetic material would be completed.”
German company BSW Regupol was awarded the contracts to lay synthetic material at both venues.