Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Capital Projects Ian Borg, Parliamentary Secretary for Lands and Construction Chris Agius and Parliamentary Secretary for Youth, Sport and Voluntary Organisations Clifton Grima inaugurated an investment of around €200,000 in renovation of the Rinella Tennis Club. This project, which commenced in April of 2019, was led by the Public Works department.
Minister Ian Borg said that, “today, we are witnessing another project which will serve for the benefit of not just the general public but also the sports community. Here, we have a club which has more than a hundred members and we felt that these members deserved an appropriate place of the best standards where they can practice their sport. I am committed to continue working to better the quality of life of our people within the sports community too.”
Parliamentary Secretary Chris Agius said that today Rinella Tennis Club members witnessed the realisation of a dream. Although this club has always received help from SportMalta, today was the most important day for the club, now that the court itself has been rebuilt. The club now has new and modern facilities to cater for any need. The parliamentary secretary thanked committee officials for their commitment and work within the Kalkara community and its surroundings.
Parliamentary Secretary for Youth, Sport and Voluntary Organisations Clifton Grima highlighted the importance of athletes having the highest quality sport infrastructure. He said that during 2021, government will continue to strengthen investment in sport infrastructure with various projects including the completion of the second phase of the Basketball Sports Complex in Ta’ Qali and work will begin on another tennis sport facility in Pembroke.
“These are infrastructures that will be enjoyed by all the Maltese and Gozitan people. This clearly demonstrates how government is committed to further strengthen sports infrastructure to continue raising and reaching levels of success in sport in our country”, concluded Parliamentary Secretary Grima.
This club is built on an area which historically served as a wireless and telegraph station for the British Navy.
Amongst the improvements, the length of the tennis court increased by 1 metre and a half to bring the tennis court up to standard in terms of Playing Area dimensions. Other aspects include the installation of a double net on the existing surface as well as installation of sleeves which help electricity to pass more efficiently through to the floodlights. A new levelling setup was carried out in order to cater for rainwater. For this project, a total of 746 square metres of C35 concrete mixed with the appropriate chemicals were poured and asphalt applied.
The tennis court was newly painted with a specific type of paint approved by the International Tennis Federation, together with the installation of a new fence and a new set of seats to make the project much more aesthetically pleasing.
The Public Works Department contributed as well by helping with the plastering and painting of external parts of the club. Apart from that, the existent pipe systems were cleaned up and new sleeves were installed underground for a more efficient electrical and water system for the whole club.
The project was finished in July 2020.
