Work on the Youth Community Center in Pago Pago, which will also serve as the centralized office for the Dept. of Youth and Women’s Affairs (DYWA) has been delayed as the contractors wait for the supply of materials that is being provided by the American Samoa Government.

The project is contracted to Paramount Builders, which provides labor and equipment. A company official said yesterday that he could not provide a set completion date because “if there are no materials, we cannot work.”

He added, “Everything is tentative upon the timely supply of materials and there’s no way we can be able to provide an exact completion date.”

Samoa News understands that the roofing materials were shipped from New Zealand and the project calls for supplies that are not readily available on island.

The structure will be a two-story complex with seven main sections. The upper level on the sami side will be DYWA’s future home while the other sections will be open for use by different organizations, churches, and youth groups who want to utilize the space for everything from meetings to workshops and seminars.

The first floor will feature a weight room and space where basketball and volleyball games will be held. Once the building is officially dedicated, a Youth Summit will be held there.

The Youth Community Center is being built at the former site of the Korea House in Pago Pago which was demolished two years ago after engineers concluded that the structure was “unsafe” and in such a bad state that renovation work wouldn’t be enough to help it.

The Indonesian government pledged $300,000 to fund the construction of the new Youth Community Center and the American Samoa Government is putting up $300,000 of its own money for the project.