By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS

Tribune Staff Reporter

lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

THE Chinese government is fully covering the $36m repairs to the Thomas A Robinson National Stadium, which officials expect to be completed at least 14 days before the World Athletics Relay.

The Bahamas hosted the relay event in 2014, 2015 and 2017 and will do so again on May 4 and 5.

During a ceremony to discuss the project yesterday, Youth, Sports and Culture Minister Mario Bowleg said 150 Chinese workers and 75 Bahamians are renovating the stadium.

“These repairs are taken on by the People’s Republic of China as this was a gift given to The Bahamas some ten years ago and as you can see the repairs are needed,” he said.

“We thank them for their commitment to ensuring that they bring this facility back up to A1 standard so that we can continue holding inter-national events and using these facilities as a development of our young people.”

China gifted the 190,000-square-foot stadium to The Bahamas in 2011, signalling the growing bilateral relations between the two countries.

Dai Qingli, ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, said: “The rough estimate made by the Bahamas government when they put forward the project proposal was like $28m, but because of this urgent nature, it became an urgent project so the cost went up by a few million dollars.”

Ms Qingli, whose last day in office is tomorrow, said the repairs are a symbol of friendship between both countries.

“We have been working on this stadium project for many months now, since last year,” she said. “This is a collaborative project between our two governments. We have been able to secure a Chinese government grant at the request of The Bahamas government.

“We all know the importance of this stadium to the Bahamian people and we see this as a symbol of friendship between our countries, so we want this symbol to stand tall and proud and especially to be ready in time for the World Relays.”

The Chinese government is also constructing a man camp, a housing facility for athletes, according to Mr Bowleg. The facility will accommodate 150 people and feature a canteen and sleeping quarters.

“What we will do now is when our national teams are preparing in the various disciplines, they will have some place that we can host them at less of cost and you know again it’s our job that we maintain and upkeep these facilities to ensure that they can be of great asset to us in the long run,” he said.

He highlighted the need to hire additional staff to help maintain and upkeep the facilities.