All the tiles in the Gungahlin Leisure Centre's 50-metre pool will have to be replaced before it can reopen to swimmers, with fears it could take more than a year for the repairs to be finished.
ACT Sports Minister Yvette Berry said structural engineers and consultants had determined the tiles in the pool of the $28.7 million facility, finished in 2014, would need to be removed and replaced.
But no timeline for the pool's reopening has been given and the opposition has demanded answers from the government.
The pool has not been opened since the coronavirus-induced lockdown. It came as tiles in the pool started to fall off in June last year. Experts started investigations into the problem tiles when the pool closed in June.
The government allocated money to repairing the tiles in last week's territory budget but the final cost of the repair bill has yet to be determined as it is dependent on commercial negotiations. Money will be set aside for repairs during this year and next year.
Liberal MLA Leanne Castley, who is a member in the Gungahlin-based seat of Yerrabi, said this could mean the pool may not be fixed until June 2022, which she said was "entirely unacceptable".
"With no funding allocated and no answers as to when work will begin, when it will end and when we will ever get our pool, it could be as late as 2022," she said.
"We might be look at a whole other summer without the pool."
Ms Castley said the community needed more regular updates on what was happening with the pool
"I think we have been completely left in the dark and Gungahlin residents deserve far more information. They deserve to be kept up to date, especially the people using the pool every single day," she said.
"There is not enough transparency into what is going on and it's not enough to just have a line item in the budget with no explanation as to when the money will be released."
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In a statement, Ms Berry said she shared the community's frustration at the pool's closure. She said she has asked for the works to get underway as soon as possible.
"The government is continuing negotiations for the pool repairs which I am now advised will include removal of all the tiles leveling screeds and coatings, a further investigation of the structure and joints and then installing a new pool tiling system including a waterproofing membrane and grout repairs," she said.
"I share the community's frustration with the time it's taken.
"I have asked for the directorate to begin a process to get these works underway to reopen the pool for the community as soon as possible.
"I continue to ask for advice and regular updates on progress and I will keep the community informed."
The centre is owned by the ACT government but managed by the YMCA.
