DPWH to finish Zambo sports complex rehab this month

ZAMBOANGA CITY -- The rehabilitation of this city's sports complex, which served as the biggest evacuation center for the thousands of families displaced in the 2013 siege, is set to be completed this year. 

Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) 9 (Zamboanga Peninsula) project engineer, Shadimar Jalaidi, said Friday the rehabilitation of the Joaquin F. Enriquez Memorial Sports Complex is already 98-percent complete.

The sports facility was damaged after it was used as an evacuation center when the 21-day siege broke out on Sept. 9, 2013.

More than 100,000 people were displaced when fighting erupted after hundreds of Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) combatants loyal to MNLF founding chairman Nur Misuari occupied some five coastal barangays in this city.

Jalaidi said they are currently working on the installation gates, planting of carabao grass, and some painting jobs at the sports complex.

The repair of the rubberized track oval and playing fields, as well as the installation of the artificial grasses, which is 50 percent of the rehabilitation project, have been completed.

With a total cost of more than PHP187 million, the repair is being undertaken by a private construction firm and supervised by the DPWH.

A multi-use facility, the sports complex has an area of 57,500 sq. meters and is considered as one of the most modern in the country. The stadium holds about 10,000 people.

The sports complex hosted the 1992 Palarong Pambansa and the National Private Schools Athletic Association (PRISAA) games in 2005, and the Philippine Association of State Universities and Colleges (PASUC) - National Sports Olympics in 2007. (PNA)