Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare is impressed with the construction progress made so far on the Solomon Islands Sports Institute (SIIS) during a visit to the site today (Tuesday 16 March).
The Institute of Sports (SIIS) is the first-ever Government funded investment to Sports Development in the country which will cost over SB$20 million once completed.
“Once all these facilities are completed, Solomon Islands will have one of the best, if not the best National Institute of Sports in Pacific Island countries. It is a key legacy for the 2023 Pacific Games,” Sogavare said.
The country had been lacking ‘sports development facilities to further develop, harness and sharpen the skills of our athletes to be competitive.
The lack of sporting facilities explains the reason why the country had not been performing to its potential in national, regional, and international sporting events and competitions.
This facility will support sports development programs for at least 20 of the 24 sports listed in the 2023 Pacific Games.
“Our journey to achieve at least 40 Gold Medals in 2023 start here,” he said.
The facility when completed will have its own solar installation to power the electrical needs of the facility in the long-term.
It will have a 70-metre by 30 meters training field and a 4-6 lane 60-meter sprint-training track with a temporary swimming pool for conditioning training using a 40 feet container.
“Today we are 852 days away from the Games. With God’s help, we will succeed,” Prime Minister Sogavare said.
The Prime Minister also briefly visited the construction progress at Futsal Stadium site at Panatina.
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