Ethiopia’s Oromia State Deputy President Abdulaziz Mohamed has laid the cornerstone to commence construction of a new sports complex in Sululta. The new Sululta Sports Centre will be constructed at a cost of US$29.2m (600 million birr).
The Deputy President said the new modern sports complex facility would help in development of sports in the country. He said construction of the facility showed the Ethiopia government’s aspiration “to build sports on solid foundation”. Head of the Oromia Youth and Sports Bureau Mohamed Jilo has said that the new Sululta Sports Centre, which will be constructed on a 23 acre piece of land, will be large enough to host 800 trainees at once.
The new sports complex will be constructed 30 kilometres from the capital Addis Ababa on the road to Bahir Dar. Set for construction according to Head of the Oromia Youth and Sports Bureau Mohamed Jilo said at the launching ceremony will be two standard football pitches, Olympic-size swimming pool and playing ground to accommodate 13 different sports.
The Deputy President said Ethiopia was known for athletics the world over and would maintain the status in “a very coordinated way”. The Sululta Sports Centre complex is expected in the coming four years and sources from Oromia Youth and Sports Bureau show that the sports complex project is part of a five-year plan to be implemented.
Last year, MH Engineering Plc won a tender for design, supervision and contract administration of a 60, 000 capacity national stadium in Addis Ababa, the Adey Abeba stadium at a cost of two billion Birr. The tender was awarded by Ethiopia’s Federal Sports Commission (FSC). Ethiopia announced it would accept bids last month April from local and international contractors, for construction of the new stadium.
