invitations for bids have been issued for the construction of the fields pavilion, jogging track, fencing and landscaping. Tenders are due on August 27.

And trustee Donald Lines said construction would begin soon after a contractor was chosen next month. The phase is scheduled for completion in May 2000.

The building comes at the tail end of work from the first phase, which involved completion of the southern field and cricket pitches. Excavation for the central core continues, and building will commence next year. The structure will contain gymnasiums with an adjacent swimming pool.

"The plans have been continuously modified -- we have had to work to accommodate certain requests,'' Mr. Lines said.

"The facility will be very unique for the 25-acre site. The original site a was much smaller until we were given more land.'' Mr. Lines said the new Government decided to change the order of the various phases and placed a higher priority on completion of the southern fields -- the current National Stadium -- over completion of the central core.

Youth and Sport Minister Dennis Lister charged that the previous Government "had left too many loose ends and the whole project was in a confused state''.

The National Sports Centre has been in the pipeline for almost 30 years. Work finally began six years ago and the project is scheduled for completion in 2001. Approximately $9 million has been spent on the facility to date, although the whole venture is estimated to cost somewhere in the region of $50 million.