‘President Michel Sleiman Sports Village’, will be inaugurated on Sunday May 4, in Jbeil.

Investment in the project reached more than $3.5 million. Lebanese-Mexican mogul Carlos Slim, contributed $2.5 million. Georges Habib, Mokhtar of Byblos, and General Manager of the site, said that municipality and other donors worked on providing the balance of the needed amount.

The project stretches over 22,000 square meters, on a land leased from the Maronite Church. It is located on the St. George Hill facing the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Notre Dame De Secours.

The sports village includes a 2,000 seat basketball court. It also has a volleyball court built according to international standards. The project includes an indoor semi Olympic-size heated pool (25 meters long), in addition to martial arts, ping-pong, and squash courts. The project also includes an athletic terrain, as well as specialized medical service and VIP rooms.

Habib said that the plans for the second phase of construction will be announced on the inauguration day. It includes an outdoor football playground. It will be finalized within the coming six to seven months.

The second construction phase, which stretches over an additional 14,000 square meters, will also include an equestrian terrain and specialized athletics fields.

The village will host all the clubs of the Jbeil caza, and not only those of the city of Byblos.