Bermuda has inched closer to getting a new swimming pool after the trustees of the National Sports Centre were given $15 million to get building underway.

Goverment had already provided the funds over a three-year period, and after finalising plans with the Bermuda Amateur Swimming Association (BASA), have given the go-ahead to a project that has been years in the making.

A new outdoor aquatics centre at the NSC, complete with 50-metre pool, diving pool, therapeutic facilities for rehabilitation, and even a water slide are included in the plans that were announced on Monday.

The new design will replace the ambitious NSC centre core that has been deemed financially unviable in the current climate.

However, the new pool has no start date, no projected completion date, and is already facing a financial shortfall of an as yet unknown amount. In addition, the project has yet to go out to tender, and the earliest that work could begin is May of next year.

New Sports Minister Glenn Blakeney is confident, however, that any extra money can be solicited from the private sector, and the pool ready in time for the Island Games in 2013.

"I think we have all come a long way from the start of a dream," said Blakeney.

"And I think all of us here today are dreamers and now we are saying 'you know what, the dream has come to fruition because of the tangible manifestation of $15 million to get the project underway'.

"We don't know what the shortfall is until we have had responses to the tender. But we will get the money that we need. It's a buyers' market.

"I am an eternal optimist, but we are a caring Government and this is something that has been long in the making, and we have now come to the table with $15 million and that goes a long way to embarking upon this journey. I can't help feeling incredibly enthusiastic about this all.

"I would be able to tell people when they could start using the pool precisely if I had a crystal ball, but seeing as I don't I'm not going to make a promise. I would like to put a completion date on it, but I can say that once the planning process is complete it is estimated that it is a two-year construction project."

The responsibility for getting any additional funding will fall on the trustees and BASA, and Sean Tucker, the chairman of the board of trustees, has no doubts that the funds will be found.

"We met with the private sector in the lead-up to this announcement and they made the promise that once Government put the money forward they would then get involved. We're not concerned about the money. We have enough to start the project with . . . it is already in the bank.

"We have an idea what it will cost, but we can't say until we get the tenders back."

For many there will be a sense of de ja vu about the announcement and a feeling of wariness. But Tab Froud, president of BASA, was in a jubilant mood.

"I'm totally ecstatic over the whole process, I'm almost jumping for joy. It's a great day for Bermuda," he said.

"It's not just a simple matter of designing a simple pool, there are many other sports involved. I think we have come to a great conclusion."