John Culatto
THE state-of-the-art Lathbury Sports Complex, called ‘a feat of engineering’ by the government, is now open for public use.
Chief Minister Fabian Picardo and Minister for Sport Steven Linares officially opened the new public sports facility Tuesday, nearly six years after construction started.
It features a new football pitch, running track, rifle range, Olympic swimming pool and parking for locally-based business Bassadone Motors.
The four year delay for the facilities was put down to COVID-19, Brexit and travel issues.
But the government has now revealed that the challenge of digging out 60,000 cubic metres of solid limestone rock was another reason for the delay.
The government said in a statement that the area was ‘riddled with fissures and fractures that made its extraction using brand new technologies all the more difficult’.
The workers even came across ‘unmapped military tunnels’ and had to deal with ‘heritage considerations’, the government said.
In light of these challenges, the government called its official opening ‘a massive achievement’.
It also revealed that by teaming up with 4WD global supplier Bassadone, it had saved the taxpayer money from the final bill.
The company chose to stage more of its operations on the Rock after taking over a whole underground parking with its vehicles.
Bassadone send out many of these all-terrain vehicles to remote parts of the world to take on aid missions after being fitted out locally.
Picardo commented on this ‘success story of a government and private enterprises working in tandem’ during his inauguration speech.
“Whilst businesses worldwide are closing and relocating, in Gibraltar they find opportunities and room for growth.
“Whilst governments worldwide are cutting services and where land is our scarcest asset, this Government finds opportunities and room to deliver on what matters the most: education, housing, jobs, sports, green spaces.”
The Chief Minister delivered his pitch for the election at the end of the year by pointing out how resilient his administration had been in tough times.
“Where others only see problems, this Government will continue to innovate and to find creative solutions that will allow us to continue to deliver for generations of Gibraltarians,” he added.
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