It was supposed to be a building “for the well-being of mind and body”, but more than three years after the foundation stone with that inscription was laid the Kirkop sports complex is still in shell form with no target date for completion.

The foundation stone of the complex, which forms part of the St Benedict college secondary school, was laid on April 30, 2007, by then Education Minister Louis Galea. It was meant to be completed by June 2008.

Tendering complications arose and in the Budget speech for 2009 the government made a commitment that the project would be ready by the end of that year. When the target date elapsed, a third commitment was made in the Budget speech for 2010.

With only one month to go before a new year is ushered in, the Kirkop sports complex is still unfinished.

According to a spokesman for the sports parliamentary secretariat, €1.4 million has already been spent on the building and the final price tag is expected to be €3.5 million.

The spokesman said that a number of tenders were adjudicated in recent weeks and the final tender should be decided upon shortly. However, he did not say when the complex would be completed.

“If there are no more complications and appeals the adjudication process should lead to the complex’s completion, which can then be used by the college students during the day and by sports organisations after school hours,” he said.

He said the process took longer than expected because of “lengthy tendering procedures that required maximum transparency”.

In the meantime, the structure is an unusable mass of stone, concrete and dangling electricity cables. The place is cordoned off by a wire mesh but this did not prevent graffiti being sprayed on one of the ground floor walls. The main hall, which will eventually be decked with parquet flooring and overhead lighting, is a vast expanse of emptiness with a hard concrete floor and no children playing inside.

ksansone@timesofmalta.com