The Palau National Gym will get improvements by Bureau of Public Works (BPW) as it is heading the infrastructure and logistic sub-committee of Our Oceans Conference 2020 which will be August and plans to make the national gym the main venue.
Public Works Director Brian Melairei said, “The national gym will serve as dual purpose facility, after the conference it will serve as indoor air-conditioned gym.”
According to Melairei, the conference has sanctioned and unsanctioned side events, it serves as a time for countries to do bilateral as well.
“We have identified 31 possible venues walking distance from the national gym that will be able to accommodate side events and bilateral meetings,” Melairei said.
Melairei added that this will mostly be public facilities like PCC classrooms, PCC conference rooms, the cafeteria, the school of excellence, old OEK, Civic Hall.
However, he said that One-Stop shop won’t be completed by the time of the conference.
One-Stop shop is a facility in the process of construction opposite the Bureau of Public Safety. It aims at accommodating national and state government services and the goal is to ensure ease for people to get services at one place.
“The outer walls of the building of One-Stop shop should be completed but the interior works will be pending. It hence won’t be used for the conference,” Melairei said.
The BPW will be advertising for the constructional improvements of the national gym this week and is still working on the scope of work for the other 31 venues.
“The deadline for the improvements is set to be May next year so that the decoration committee has time to do the work from May to half of July,” Melairei added.
The differently abled and pedestrian friendly roadsides along with bicycle friendly roads is a part of work to be done as a part of 2020 Our Oceans Conference as well. (Eshan Kalyanikar)