Parliament inspects Aquatic Centre

Parliament’s Transport and Public Infrastructure Committee on Tuesday inspected the Aquatic Centre at Kamuzu Institute for Sports in Lilongwe to appreciate the state of the facility.

The committee’s chairperson Uchizi Mkandawire said the visit followed images of damaged sections of the facility which went viral on social media recently.

The images showed sagging interlocking blocks.

He said: “As a committee responsible for building, we, therefore, thought it wise to come and appreciate the situation.

“We have gathered that at the said place, the contractors were supposed to erect a smaller swimming pool, but it was shelved to pave the way for the [African Union Sports Council] Region 5 Youth Games.

“So, this led to the hole being filled temporarily and this led to the sagging of interlocking blocks.

“Otherwise, we were impressed with the progress of the works.”

Minister of Youth and Sports Richard Chimwendo Banda said they were happy that Parliament made an effort to visit the facility to appreciate the situation.

“As I said earlier on, the works were yet to be completed as the facility was only opened to accommodate the Region 5 Youth Games and it will now be completed to perfection,” he said.

Recently, players in the local construction industry comprising engineers, architects and surveyors also visited the facility to carry out an independent assessment, but kept their findings under wraps, saying they would issue a statement.

A member of the group said they needed to prepare a technical report before issuing a statement.

The K9.4 billion facility was constructed by China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation and it includes an Olympic standard swimming pool and its auxiliary structures.

The project also involved construction of covered stands, rehabilitation of existing stands, construction of a double storey VIP wing, a social service block, a gym and conference hall.