The construction of a new training center for national athletes has been completed in central South Korea to provide more of them with optimal training facilities, the Korean Olympic Committee said Thursday.

The national training center in Jincheon, some 90 kilometers south of Seoul in North Chungcheong Province, features both indoor and outdoor state-of-the-art training facilities for some 350 national team members in 12 events including a shooting range, a swimming center and multi-purpose gyms, the committee said.

Accommodations to house 200 athletes and supporting facilities such as a sports medicine and science center were also built in the new training complex, it added.

The dedication ceremony was held at the center with Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik and some 800 officials attending, according to the committee.

Construction commenced in February 2009 at a cost of 184 billion won ($162.7 million) and was the first stage of the two-stage project to build a replacement for the existing training camp in Taeneung, northern Seoul. The existing camp has limited capacity and old facilities after 45 years of operation, the committee said, adding the royal tombs of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) near the Taeneung center limited its expansion and prompted the committee to find a new site.

The final stage of the construction is scheduled to begin next year and be completed by 2016 at a cost of 330.8 billion won, according to the committee.

When fully completed, the Jincheon center is expected to become a world-class training camp that houses most of the country’s 1,378 national team members in 37 events, except for some 30 skaters who will continue to use the Taeneung center and about 200 others who have their own specially-equipped facilities, the committed added. 

(Yonhap News)