[www.inewsguyana.com] – The Albion Sports ground, Region Six is now equipped to cater to a host of sporting and recreational events, as a result of the installation of a state-of-the-art lighting system, that costs close to $110M. President Donald Ramotar formally commissioned the system on July 7.
The ground, described as the ‘Mecca of Cricket’, locally has contributed to the honing of several renowned batsmen, and the installation of the lights will propel the facility in the, “modern era”, the president said.
“Cricket is changing in its nature, and therefore, if Berbice is to continue playing an important role and making an important contribution to Guyana and West Indies cricket, we need to put the infrastructure in place to deal with the changing nature of the game itself, and thus, these lights are extremely important in that regard,” he said.
The Head of State underscored that Guyana still has the potential to produce outstanding cricketers like Rohan Kanhai, Alvin Kallicharran, Clive Lloyd and Roy Fredericks as he noted that, “Berbice has always produced a rich crop of cricketers for us,” he indicated.
The Albion ground has been the venue for first class cricket matches with five One Day International games being played from 1977 and 1985.
The ground and its new facilities will provide an outlet, for youth in particular, the President said, and divert them from negative influences. The project was undertaken in three phases, the first was the tendering and supply of the equipment to provide the floodlights; phase two included the actual construction of the foundation and erection of towers; while the third phase comprised the installation of all the imported equipment and powering of the system.
A Management Committee comprising Veemen Walters, Omesh Shrikishun, Anil Beharry, Imran Saccoor and Pawaan Baldeo, CEO of the Albion Sports Complex, was installed to oversee the project.
The project was launched a few months ago and saw the erection of six towers with 17 luminaries on each pole, totalling 102 -1500 watts bulbs being powered by the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) Inc. A power plant (generator) will be acquired in the near future, to ensure a steady electrical supply, to guard against potential power failures.
Meanwhile, Sport Minister Anthony highlighted the passion of Berbice residents for the game of cricket noting that the lights are a good investment especially for budding cricketers, and expressed hope that the facility will be used more by the residents and other sports disciplines.
The lights were mounted by Musco Sports Lighting of Iowa, USA; the same company that had installed the lights at the Guyana National Stadium. Among those on hand for the ceremony were former West Indian Cricket Captain Clive Lloyd, Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy, Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Dr. Frank Anthony, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo), Raj Singh, Estate Manager of Albion Estate, Dev Kumar and Region Six Chairman, David Armogan.
[Extracted from GINA]
