50 public facilities for sports on the agenda

Olympic pool in Dbayeh will be open soon

A new Olympic swimming pool located along the Dbayeh Marina is scheduled to be inaugurated this year. The Ministry of Youth and Sports said the construction of the pool will be completed towards mid-2013. The facility will include a gym and dorms for athletes.

Construction of the project began in 2002, with a budget of around $7 million. Recently, the Cabinet approved another $10 million in order to restore the incomplete structure and finalize it.

This pool is one of the very few indoor pools available in local sports clubs. It will be 50 meters long and 20 to 50 meters wide. Its depth will also be appropriate for training in Olympic diving.

The Ministry of Youth and Sports plans to establish 50 new public facilities for sports over a period of ten years, at a rate of five new centers every year. “We will allocate $3.3 million each year for the construction of stadiums and sports centers,” said Nabil Majed, media coordinator. The prospected projects will be funded by the Ministry. Majed said the municipal councils in each Caza will donate the necessary land for these initiatives. Minister of Youth and Sports Faysal Karami recently announced that the Ministry’s annual budget would be increased to $16 million, from only $5 million previously.

Majed said that a project for upgrading the two Olympic stadiums in Tripoli and in Baalbek will also be initiated soon. The project, which aims to turn the two stadiums into sports cities, is part of the preparations to host the Pan-Arab Games in 2015. Majed said: “The stadiums are currently compliant to international standards but are limited to certain disciplines. They will eventually be enhanced to accommodate more sports.”

The Ministry will appoint a general administration to manage public sports facilities. “The new authority will control, supervise, and maintain all public sports centers across the country,” said Majed.