Government has a hand in Nakivubo project, says VP Ssekandi

By 2020, Ugandans, especially sports fanatics will be treated to a new magnificent football pitch, built with an international touch to accommodate various sports activities.
When completed, Nakivubo War Memorial Stadium (NWMS) will give a new facelift to the country’s sports sector. The redevelopment of the stadium comes on the heels of continuous demand for better sports facilities.

The Shs54 billion project, which is being undertaken by ROKO Construction Company, will have the pitch, two suspended floors, a two-level pavilion, netball grounds and the roof.

"It is a government project. Not a Ham (Kiggundu) project. People should not doubt it. I am very impressed with the progress of the job," said Vice President Edward Ssekandi during a joint tour with the State Minister for Sports Charles Bakkabulindi on Friday.

Mr Bakkabulindi said the stadium will grow from a 15,000 seater to a 30,000 seater.
“Roko, the firm constructing it, are a reputable firm who are on course. Those asking for the stadium ownership should ask themselves the meaning of a Public Private Partnership ," Charles Bakkabulindi.

Mr Henry Ssegawa, the site Engineer recently told Daily Monitor that the stadium will have a sitting capacity of 35,000 spectators, adding that there will be three entrances to the gate; one on John Ssebana Kizito Road (former Nakivubo Road) and two other gates on Kafumbe Mukasa Road, and other emergency exits.

NWMS sits on approximately 13 acres of land and out of this, the pitch, according to Mr Ssegawa, will occupy about six to seven acres while the remaining part of the land will be consumed by other developments around the pitch.
The redevelopment of NWMS is a private partnership between the Trustees of the facility and the developer, Mr Hamis Kiggundu, a city businessman.

The idea is to have a well-built stadium that meets the Federation of International Football Associations (Fifa) standards. After its completion, it will supplement Mandela Stadium at Namboole, which is by far the biggest football stadium in Uganda.Ssegawa further revealed that the facility will have four ramps for cars and people with disabilities, adding that the pitch will be 1.5 metre higher than the upper road (Kafumbe Mukasa) and 3.5 lower that the lower road (Ssebana Kizito road) to mitigate flooding as the case was with the old pitch.

About Nakivubo stadium
The 54-year old stadium was established under the NWMS Trust Act, 1963 and is run by the Board of Trustees known as the registered Trustees of NWMS, appointed by the sports minister.
For more than five decades, Nakivubo was home to Uganda Cranes international football matches and a host of Uganda Premier League encounters.

Some of Africa’s greatest ever footballers played at the stadium including the continent’s only ever winner of the Fifa Golden Ball, European Ballon d’OR and Caf best player award George Opong Weah.
On September 16, 2009, Cabinet approved a master plan for the redevelopment and upgrading of the NWMS using the Public-private-partnership (PPP) methodology but with a condition that the area and infrastructure around the stadium should be incorporated in the planning of the project.