Miri City Council aims for public swimming pool improvements to be ready early next year

MIRI (May 10): Miri City Council (MCC) is aiming to deliver the proposed Miri Public Swimming Pool improvement project by the first quarter of next year as it will be calling for the project to be tendered this month, said mayor Adam Yii.

The scope will include repairs and replacement works to the water filtration system comprising pumps, valves, piping and water tanks.

“Miri City Council is committed to tender the project by the third week of May and targets to hand over the project site by September 2024,” he said, adding a sum of RM500,000 had been allocated to the council for the project by the federal Ministry of Youth and Sports in December last year.

Yii was responding to the call by the Aquanova Swimming Club for the government to urgently address issues concerning the public swimming pool so that the public can have an affordable and good facility for swimming training.

In a statement on Tuesday, the club voiced the frustration of many local swimming talents who faced limited options when it came to training facilities.

Although it is newly established, the club has been making waves after 15 of its young swimmers won various medals at the 2nd Brunei National Age Group Championships on April 27 and 28.

The teams captured 47 golds, 42 silvers, 24 bronzes and set 23 new meet records.

Nine-year-old Cordelia Wong Qiu Han broke five records, amassing 12 gold medals, while Ethan Yii Shu Hong set six records and grabbed 11 golds.

On the proposed retro-fitting and covered learning areas of the swimming pool under the 12th Malaysia Plan, Yii said this project which has been approved with an allocation of RM4 million has to be pushed to next year.

The project, to be carried out by Sarawak Sports Corporation, requires an additional RM1 million to meet the requirements stated by the State Building Development Committee after revision of its design to optimise usage.

“In total, the project value is RM5 million, and the idea of providing roofing structure is to cover the main swimming areas so that it could be used throughout the day – rain or shine.

“This is also to encourage athletes to train longer during daytime when energy levels are at the optimum,” he said.

The current facilities were built in the early 2000s and the aging facilities and frequent public usage have contributed to deterioration of the pump and filtering system.

The mayor expects this project to be tendered in the third quarter of this year and the project to be awarded to the contractor by the first quarter of next year.