More sports facilities are to be built at the National Sports Training Center in Kaohsiung’s Zuoying District (左營) after the Ministry of National Defense released property there for the purpose, the Sports Administration said on Thursday.
About 16 hectares of land previously allocated for Naval Academy use would be used to build swimming pools and tennis courts at the center, the agency said.
It has been building and renovating sports facilities at the center since 2009, it said, adding that the work is part of a four-phase project.
Photo: CNA
The first phase, from 2009 to 2015, focused on building indoor and outdoor training facilities, with construction costing NT$4.54 billion (US$147.4 million), it said.
In the second phase, from 2016 to next year, the government has budgeted about NT$1.43 billion to renovate a dormitory and cafeteria, it said.
The dormitory would accommodate 508 athletes and 147 coaches, while the cafeteria, which is a Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points-certified facility, would seat 536, it said.
Sports Administration Director-General Kao Chin-hsung (高俊雄) said that the agency on Dec. 28 submitted a plan to the Executive Yuan for phase-three construction — from next year to 2024 — with costs estimated at NT$3.4 billion.
The property released by the ministry would be used in the third phase to build swimming pools and tennis courts, if the Executive Yuan approves the plan, Kao said.
The fourth phase is for indoor track and field, and cycling facilities, he said.
The swimming pool used at the 2017 Summer Universiade in Taipei would be reassembled at the training center and should be ready for use in September, he said.
The Taoyuan City Government was to inherit the prefabricated pool, which cost NT$178 million, but it declined the offer at the end of last month, citing high maintenance costs.
In other developments, the Control Yuan last week approved a censure of the Sports Administration for failing to effectively supervise management of the center.
Center management personnel were accused of misappropriating funds, including meal expenses, which went toward personnel costs.
“The Sports Administration takes full responsibility for this matter and will remind the training center that any decision made by its executive director or board members must follow regulations,” Kao said. “We will learn the lesson from the censure and prevent the same thing from happening again.”
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