Sports Minister Charles Ramson Jr., during his recent visit to the construction site of the stadium at Palmyra, announced that due to the delays, the facility will now be completed by the first quarter of 2026.
The project, which began in March 2023, was initially expected to be completed by 2025, but the minister stated that there were some setbacks. Work on the Palmyra Stadium officially commenced with the sod – turning ceremony in early March 2023.
The project cost is about $3.7 billion and is being funded under the Stabroek Block partners via the Greater Guyana Initiative. The contractors are Caribbean Green Building Inc., with support from Owen Steel.
Completion was initially targeted for 2025. More recent updates put the expected completion in the first quarter of 2026, following some delays, which include the logistics and the importation of steel pieces.
Ramson, during his recent visit, stated that based on the progress made, completion is in sight. “We are at a very good place right now to see completion by the first quarter of next year, give and take a few weeks. That is the timeline that we are projected to see completion. What you would have seen there too is that we started with a blank canvas. Just on the sand filling alone, we had to do over 160,000 tons of sand to make that facility in a state of readiness just to commence, and then a lot of pile driving, etc. Before, it was cane fields, very swampy, very clayey, so very unstable for building large infrastructure like what we are building right now. It is moving at a pace; all of the pieces that are needed for the completion, all the major pieces that are needed for completion are in the country,” he added.
Further, he noted that there were some setbacks with materials as several components of the facility were manufactured and assembled in different countries.
“It was effectively an assembly of pieces coming from different parts of the world. There has been a lot of effort to get this project on track and on stream for completion by next year, which is what we expected it to be.” The Minister expressed confidence that the stadium will be completed by the new date. He said on completion Berbice will once again be able to host international cricket matches.
Meanwhile, there has been no international cricket in Berbice since April 1985, when the West Indies beat New Zealand by 130 runs. The match was played at the Albion Sports Complex, which was the venue in Berbice to host international cricket. Albion Sports Complex has hosted five One Day International (ODI) matches between 1977 and 1985. The teams that played in ODIs at Albion include West Indies as the home side, Pakistan, England, India, Australia, and New Zealand.
“Cricket has changed a lot… before, you could host an international match at Albion or at Hampton Court, and it would have been okay. The West Indies would have played, Pakistan, India, you name it. All the big teams would have played on ordinary, what are called community grounds right now, even though in good shape,” Ramson added while noting that because the standards of international cricket have changed significantly, international games can no longer be held on those grounds.
“It means that it requires investment, and the government of Guyana sees sport as a powerful tool for the country, meaning within, but also internationally. Using it as a tool and as a vehicle for economic development and activity,” the Sports Minister said. (Andrew Carmicheal)
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