(Trinidad Guardian) The controversial Brian Lara Stadium in Tarouba which is yet to be completed has now reached a budget of TT$1.07 billion. This was disclosed by Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs, Anil Roberts at a media conference held at his head office, Abercromby Street, Port-of-Spain, yesterday. Roberts first noted that the Brian Lara Stadium, in Tarouba is under Udecott which is under the Ministry of Planning so the Ministry of Sports and its Minister have no standing on that project whatsoever .
But information is that the cost has reached TT$1.07 billion and it’s still not outfitted. “There are also still questions about the steel work and the wells and so on so if you want more details you have to contact the Udecott board and the Ministry of Planning. However, the sad thing is the former Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs in his wisdom on November 19, 2009 he and the Cabinet of T&T under the Prime Minister Patrick Manning took out a loan from First Citizens Bank for TT$497 million at 6.5 per cent interest for the completion of the Brian Lara Stadium.”
“There are reports from Hafeez Karamath Limited that they have not been paid so we don’t know where that money went, or if it was paid or not. What is known is that in the last seven months this Ministry which has no control over that project has had to pay loan repayments of $64 million.” Asked if he was concerned about the situation Roberts said it concerned him even before they made the first payment.
He added, “If you can remember I was an advisor in the Sports Ministry back in 2002 until January under Minister Boynes. I sat with him, I advised him and went with details to tell him don’t do it. I said it was madness it was ridiculous and was not the way to go. This was being done all at a cost of TT$850 million but now it has reached TT$1.8 billion and the cricket stadium is not finish.”
On completion of the venue, Roberts said Udecott and the Ministry of Planning will hand it over to the Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs. “We will have the impossible task of trying to make it financially viable which it will never be. “I don’t see cricket generating that much kind of revenue. When you look at the QP Oval and T&T not even hosting a Test Match this year or over the next two years you ask how are we going to do it.
“We can hardly even fill Guaracara Park so we will be taking ideas from the population. We have in the new structure in the Sport Company of T&T an executive manager of business implementation of business management who will have to try sports tourism and develop a plan to try and mitigate the loss. But once again it will be an impossible task. The stadiums we have already cost about TT$1.8 million to maintain a month. So maintenance alone may be close to $400,000 a month. To generate that revenue is going to be a burden on the tax payers.”
