The construction works of the stalled Wote Stadium in Makueni County, in the former Eastern Province of Kenya, are now expected to be completed in February 2022 according to Sports Kenya Chairman Charles Waithaka.
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The latter made the announcement while speaking at Mr. Maalim Mohammed, the Makueni County Commissioners boardroom, on a courtesy call. According to Mr. Waithaka the US$ 3.125M stadium stalled in December last year (2020) after the contractor Traphes and Nitram Enterprises Limited “faced challenges in doing the works” followed by the contract termination early this year.
Work completed on the Wote Stadium before the termination of the contract
According to Mutiso Menezes International, the consultant at the Wote Stadium project, Traphes and Nitram Enterprises Limited had completed approximately 35% of the entire work. This included a part of the perimeter wall, part of the tracks, and part of the arena and had not started with the pavilion citing a change of the design of the facility.
During the recent meeting at the Makueni County Commissioners boardroom, the newly appointed Kenya Sports chairman said that the stadium pavilion will now be relocated from the western side of the stadium as in the initial plan to the eastern side due to instability of the ground.
The contractor will also sink a borehole that will be used to provide irrigation water to irrigate grass at the stadium, aimed at compacting the running track.
Plans put in place to fast-track the project
Mr. Waithaka requested that electricity be installed at the stadium so as to enable the contractor to work day and night to redeem the lost time. He also urged the Department of Works to accelerate any approvals related to the project and ensure that the work specifications are adhered to.
The County Commissioner on the other hand said that he will mobilize the local multi-agency team through the County Development Implementation Committee to monitor the progress of the 20,000 capacity stadium and to that ensure it is completed as scheduled.
He also said that they would hold weekly meetings geared towards delivering the project using the multi-agency approach.
