THE UDC is now moving to wrap up the financing for the third and fourth phases of the long-awaited Catherine Hall Sports Complex in Montego Bay.

The work, which is slated to begin by the last quarter of this year, will include spectator stands and support facilities, outer fencing, parking, lighting, roadways into the facility and some other court facilities.

“We are now seeking to complete financial arrangements under the San Jose Accord for phases three and four, … (and) we are expecting this (work) to commence during the last quarter of this year,” said UDC general manager Marjorie Campbell at a recent contract signing in the western city.

According to Campbell, they have already completed phases one and two which consisted of drainage, the laying of a 400 metre eight lane, all-weather mondo track and preparation of the inner football playing field and (under) fencing.

But Campbell did not indicate a completion date for the project, which is already well behind schedule. The last completion date given by Prime Minister P J Patterson was December 2001.

The contract was signed in 1998 with much fanfare but the actual work has moved at a very slow pace with about a one-year gap between the first and second phases.

There has also been criticism that the project was being implemented without much input from locals, but the prime minister has made it clear, in the past, that he expects them to get involved at the management level once the facility is completed.

The complex is being built through a loan from the Venezuelans and has to be viable. Gate receipts are expected to contribute a significant amount to its sustainability.