Masaka unveils artistic plan for Shs16b stadium
The artistic impression for the Shs16 billion modern city stadium in Masaka District. Photo/courtesy
What you need to know:
- Masaka City hired Cornerstone Designs and Engineering Ltd at Shs1.45b last October to make structural designs for the stadium, but the work have been slow.
- Dr Bwanika said they want the funds released by the central government to be utilised in time
Leaders in Masaka City have unveiled the artistic impression for a Shs16b modern city stadium, the first of its kind in Greater Masaka area.
Masaka City hired Cornerstone Designs and Engineering Ltd at Shs1.45b last October to make structural designs for the stadium, but the work have been slow.
This promoted the area legislators led by Dr Abed Bwanika (Kimaanya/Kabonera Municipality) last week to ask the contractor to expedite the process of completing the stadium designs.
Dr Bwanika said they want the funds released by the central government to be utilised in time.
“Our plan was to complete that project within three years, but we are behind schedule since the contractor has taken over a year working on the designs. We want the designs to be completed and we focus on the actual construction works,” he said in interview at the weekend.
The operation director and principal engineer in-charge of construction at Cornerstone Designs and Engineering Ltd, Mr John Lukindu, blamed the delays on the city leadership that was reluctant to give a response after they submitted an inception report.
The report ensures a mutual understanding of the consultant’s plan of action and timeline for conducting the evaluation
“It took a long time to get approval from the city council, but we expect to complete the final designs by the end of this month,” he added.
The government allocated Shs16b to reconstruct the facility to modern standards with capacity to host both national and international games.
In the first phase, government released Shs6 billion, part of which was used to hire consultants to make the designs .
Dr Bwanika, however, asked the city authorities to expedite the process of evicting land encroachers near the stadium.
“The survey report showed that Masaka prisons encroached on the stadium land (37decimals), and Shell Buddu filling station also encroached on part of the stadium land over 10 decimals, and other people. We need the city clerk to follow up this matter and write to the encroachers so that they can vacate the stadium land,” he added.
After completion, the upgraded stadium will have a sitting capacity of 15,000 people, with an artificial turf, swimming pool, and space for several indoor games, including basket and volleyball courts, among other facilities.
