The Ministry of Defence will be supervising the upgrading of various stadiums across the country.
Cabinet Secretary for Defence Aden Duale on Tuesday stated that his ministry will be project managers.
“The Ministry of Defence was tasked to supervise these projects and we are the project managers,” he told the Star.
Duale’s team is expected to supervise the refurbishment of Kasarani, Nyayo, Kipchoge Keino and the new Modern Talanta Football Stadium at Jamhuri
Earlier in the day, Duale held a meeting with his counterpart from the Youth Affairs and Sports, Ababu Namwamba to discuss the progress of construction and rehabilitation of the various stadia.
Also present in the meeting were Principal Secretaries Patrick Mariru (Defence), Peter Tum (Sports), the Vice Chief of Defence Forces (VCDF) Lieutenant General Jonah Mwangi and other senior officials from the two ministries.
Last year in October, the Cabinet approved the construction of a 50,000-capacity Talanta Stadium at Jamhuri grounds in Nairobi and major renovations at Nyayo National and Kasarani stadia.
It also approved the reconstruction of Kipchoge Keino Stadium in Eldoret, all of which shall be supervised by the Defence Ministry.
Kenya is currently in the midst of an ambitious effort to build stadiums across various parts of the country with the goal of positioning itself as a competitive sporting destination while fostering talent development.
This is ahead of the 2027 African Cup of Nations (Afcon), the biannual tournament which will be co-hosted jointly by Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.
For the successful execution of the project, the two ministries formed joint committees on three levels with the highest being the steering committee co-chaired by the two PSs.
The projects have been hailed as a significant step forward in improving the country’s sporting infrastructure, providing athletes with state-of-the-art facilities, and offering communities spaces for recreational activities and events.
However, despite the lofty goals and enthusiasm surrounding the projects, the construction of stadiums in Kenya has become a controversial subject.
Controversies over delays, stalling, and the delivery of underwhelming facilities have marred the implementation of these initiatives.
Many of the projects have fallen significantly behind schedule, leading to frustrations.
