BAKU (AZE) - LAUSANNE (SUI) FIG Office, September 5, 2009: The groundbreaking ceremony for a new Gymnastics Complex was held in Baku on August 26. President Ilham Aliyev and his spouse, President of the Azerbaijan Gymnastics Federation Ms Mehriban Aliyeva, took part in the ceremony. 

Representatives of the sports community and contractors attending the ceremony warmly welcomed President Ilham Aliyev and Ms Mehriban Aliyeva, who was given a generous bouquet of flowers.

President Ilham Aliyev had an opportunity to become acquainted with the project; a vast sports complex will be built, and improvement and planting works will be carried out on an area of 3.5 hectares. Training and sports halls, offices, cloakrooms, a cafe, restaurant, workshop and storehouses will be located within a three story complex on a 15 thousand square metre lot. The complex will be equipped with telecommunication and management systems. There will also be a boiler-room, a pump-house and other ancillary facilities and buildings, underground parking for 500 cars and surface parking for 100. Six thousand viewers will be able to watch the sporting events held at the complex.

All the conditions necessary for both training and national and international competitions will be provided at this exclusive complex. The venue should be operational as early as 2011.

Ms Mehriban Aliyeva placed a time capsule into the foundation and filled it with liquid concrete, ceremoniously marking the launch for construction, after which Head of State Ilham Aliyev was asked to do the same.

After the ceremony, President Ilham Aliyev and Ms Mehriban Aliyeva met with a group of gymnasts who expressed their gratitude to the delegation head and first lady for building such a splendid complex. President Ilham Aliyev and Ms Mehriban Aliyeva had their photos taken with the gymnasts.

Because of Azerbaijan Gymnastics Federation’s commitment to this discipline, the sport has seen substantial success in Azerbaijan. The European and World Championships in Rhythmic Gymnastics were held in the country, while Azerbaijani gymnasts represented their homeland with pride at the Olympic Games. At present, influential international gymnastics organisations have show interest in Azerbaijan as a direct result of the attention and concern so outwardly evidenced in the dedication of Federation President Mehriban Aliyeva.

President Ilham Aliyev once again congratulated those attending the ceremony, offered insight into the construction of the complex and wished the tradesmen successes in their work. AzerTAc