THE Jamaican government is still in discussion with a Singapore-based company to finance a new track and rehabilitation work at the National Stadium, according to Minister of Sport Olivia Grange.

More than a year ago, another Singapore-based company committed to give Jamaica the US$500,000 needed to resurface the running surface at the island’s premier sporting facility.

In exchange, several of Jamaica’s top athletes, including Veronica Campbell Brown, Asafa Powell and Dexter Lee, went to Singapore to help market their hosting of the inaugural Youth Olympic Games held last August.

World and Olympic champion Usain Bolt had been expected to be among the group travelling to Singapore but was unable to make the journey.

Grange told the Observer in an exclusive interview yesterday that the company that the Government had initially been in discussions with, had opted out of the agreement when they learnt Bolt would not be among the visiting group; instead, another company which manufactures massage equipment had been identified to help pay for the rehabilitation work.

The company hopes to market their products in the Caribbean and was in the process of finding partners in the region, Grange said.

“The discussions with the Singapore entity is continuing, it’s just that there are some arrangements that have to be made in the region on their behalf in order to promote their products,” she told the Observer.

“As soon as those arrangements are made, then they will come on board,” she added.

In the meantime, work has already started at the facility as a contract was approved by Cabinet two-and-a-half weeks ago for German company BSW to lay a new track.

The old Mondo surface was removed in November and asphalt is now being laid in preparation for a new all-weather track.

Meanwhile, Grange told the Observer the plan is for Independence Park Limited (IPL), the company which manages the stadium and other facilities at the complex, to become self-sufficient and will not be part of the national budget in the coming financial year.

General manager of IPL, Major Desmon Brown told the Observer they were aware and that that had in fact been the intention for the past two years. However, he said, financial constraints had so far made

it impossible.

“Our administrative and overhead costs are low. Most of it is operations,” he said, but added that if the government does decide to let them go, then he would have no choice.

“If that’s the policy, if that’s what we’re called to do, we have to do it,” he told the Observer.

Grange said the Sports Development Foundation (SDF) would be in charge of raising and distributing funds in sporting matters.

“That is why we want them (SDF) to concentrate on raising money — not just to draw down money from CHASE (Culture, Health, Arts, Sports and Education Fund) — but from other sources to be tagged for funding,”

she said.

“Whatever funds come in would go through the SDF and then disbursed for whatever it is to be disbursed for.”