A new public swimming pool would be built at Commonwealth Park under a re-elected ACT Labor government, with the federal government set to support the project.
A 50-metre pool, splash park and pool for swimming lessons would be built as part of the project.
Chief Minister Andrew Barr said Labor would finish detailed designs for the aquatic centre in the first half of the next term.
"The project will include a 50-metre pool, a program pool for swimming lessons and a splash park. Labor will undertake a short round of community consultation to finalise the scope of the project, with a focus on the best location to relocate the ACT's diving facilities," Mr Barr said.
"Once the new aquatic centre is complete, the ageing pool will be decommissioned, allowing for the construction of a new convention and entertainment centre on site."
Mr Barr and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will unveil the plans to design a new Canberra aquatic centre for Commonwealth Park at ACT Labor's campaign launch on Saturday.
"This is what we can achieve when Labor Governments work together. This is the bright future for Canberra with Andrew Barr as Chief Minister," Mr Albanese is due to say.
The commitment to build an aquatic centre will end a long period of uncertainty over the future of the city swimming pool.
Mr Barr said work on a future convention and entertainment precinct in Canberra's city centre had already begun.
"Labor will conclude design and business case development on the convention and entertainment project in the next term of government, with an aim to have the project construction ready by the time the new pool in Commonwealth Park is complete," he said.
Labor did not say how much a new aquatic centre would cost to complete at Commonwealth Park. The Stromlo Leisure Centre was completed at a cost of more than $36 million and opened in 2020, before high inflation drove up construction costs in Australia.
An updated infrastructure plan, released earlier this year, estimated the cost of a new Civic pool at less than $50 million.
"The Civic Pool has now reached end of life and a new pool is needed to replace the ageing Civic Pool and ensure that demand for aquatic facilities continues to be met into the future," the plan said.
Light rail is expected to carry its first passengers to Commonwealth Park when the stage 2A extension is completed in January 2028.
The Canberra Times revealed in June 2023 that Commonwealth Park was firming up as potential site for a new Civic pool after "early positive discussions" between the ACT government and the National Capital Authority.
The authority in February 2023 commissioned a design firm to develop a new masterplan for the park.
Commonwealth Park is already zoned for recreational uses but the National Capital Authority will still need to sign off on a works approval for a new aquatic centre.
The current Civic pool, between Parkes Way and Constitution Avenue, opened to coincide with the 1956 Melbourne Olympics and would now take two years of repairs to keep it in long-term use.
The existing pool site had long been touted as a potential location for a city stadium, but Mr Barr has abandoned that plan and instead wants to build a cheaper stadium as part of revamped precinct at Bruce.
The Canberra Liberals this week announced it wanted to build a new stadium at West Basin on designated national land, which is managed by the National Capital Authority.
The Liberals on Tuesday said they would begin construction on the 30,000-seat venue in their first term of government. But ACT Labor argued the venue would not fit on the site and the Liberals would not secure approvals for the project in time to start work before 2028.
Territories Minister Kristy McBain, who is responsible for the National Capital Authority, said no proposal had been submitted to the authority or the federal government by the Liberals, nor was there any evidence of a detailed costing or business case.
"[A stadium] does not fit within the current National Capital Plan, however, it is difficult to provide more analysis when all we have seen is a photoshopped image," Ms McBain said when asked how long the process to approve a stadium on the Commonwealth-controlled land would take.
Amending the National Capital Plan requires federal parliamentary approval.
