Oleai track pre-bid conference Wednesday

Northern Marianas Athletics coach Elias Rangamar, left, is among those who are hoping that the resurfacing of the Oleai track oval would be done by middle of the year so they could resume with their training and other athletics events. (Jon Perez)

The Northern Marianas Housing Corp. will be holding a pre-bid conference in their Garapan office tomorrow, Jan. 6, the 30-day deadline of the bidding process for the Oleai track oval’s resurfacing project.

NMHC opened the bidding on Dec. 8 with interested contractors that wanted to join were required to submit their project packages. The final number of how many contractors submitted their bids was not yet available at press time.

NMHC planning and environmental officer Jacob Muna said they would be discussing the project to all contractors.

“The meeting would center on what the project is all about and all information on the plans for the project will also be discussed,” Muna told Saipan Tribune in a telephone interview yesterday.

He added that the bidding process is open to everyone interested, even off-island contractors. There were reports that contractors from Australia, New Zealand, and the U.S. mainland are also interested in bidding.

“It is open to all as long as they have the capability and knowledge on how to do the project. But they have to be present on the meeting on Wednesday,” Muna ended.

NMHC and the Northern Marianas Sports Association, the private sports group that has been tasked to maintain the decade-old facility, is looking for a contractor that has the experience in doing similar projects.

NMSA wants to make sure the resurfacing, from the moment the old rubber surface is removed and up to laying out the adhesive and the new track, is done properly in order for the facility to get back to its Level II certification by the International Association of Athletics Federations.

NMSA is in the process of either improving or getting Saipan’s sports facilities back to its original form with the Northern Marianas Athletics planning to bid to host the 2017 Micronesian Athletics Championship. Saipan will also be hosting the 2021 Pacific Mini Games.

A German expert in installing rubber track surfaces supervised the entire process when the Oleai Sports Complex Stadium was constructed in early 2000. The stadium opened in 2002 and has hosted several international events including the 2006 Micronesian Games.

The Oleai track and field stadium is the only eight-lane, IAAF Level II certified track in the Micronesian region.