The Ministry of Youth and Sports is to rebuild the National Sports Council (NSC) hostel in Kumasi at an estimated cost of ?1.75bn for it to be used in camping national teams.

Edward Osei-Kwaku, the sector minister, announced this when he addressed members of Keep Fit Clubs Association after an AIDS awareness walk on Sunday. Fifteen Keep Fit Clubs took part in the 10-kilometre walk. They were put into four groups and walked from different directions to the Kumasi sports stadium.

The Youth and Sports Minister said the rehabilitation of the hostel, which is in bad shape would have cost three billion cedis as compared to the cost of building a new one at ?1.75bn. Osei-Kwaku said an international size lawn tennis court is currently under construction at the Kumasi sports stadium and that when completed major international tennis competitions such as the Davis Cup would be held in Kumasi to break the monopoly of Accra.

He said a multi-purpose lawn tennis courts to cater for local tournaments will also be built alongside the current one now under construction while a sports complex to be used for other sports disciplines and a swimming pool would also be built. Osei-Kwaku said AIDS was a killer and therefore urged sportsmen and women to keep away from actions and behaviours that would lead to contracting the disease, adding "it is more frightening than death".

The Youth and Sports Minister commended the Keep Fit Clubs for organising the walk and said one can get a sound mind in a sound body only through exercises. He presented ?2m and six footballs to the association with the promise to add nine more footballs so that each club would have a football.

Dr Opoku Adusei of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), who educated the clubs on AIDS, said people still did not believe that the disease was real and said this is one of the factors responsible for its spread.

A medical doctor resident in the United States of America, Dr Adu Oppong, who was greatly impressed by the participation of eight-year-old Maama Amma Safoah, a pupil of Kings International School and a member of the Social Keep Fit Club, gave her ?50,000.

Major Kwasi Kyei Bosomtwi (rtd), President of the association, commended the Youth and Sports Minister for responding to their call at short notice and also expressed appreciation to the members for turning out in their numbers to participate in the event.