NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 1 – President William Ruto has said he will be making visits to the construction site of the new Talanta City Stadium at the Jamhuri Grounds on Ngong Road every three months, to personally ensure the contractors deliver a world class sporting facility.
The Head of State on Friday morning broke ground for construction of the 60,000-seater football-only stadium, which has been earmarked as one of the principal host venues for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations.
“I have agreed with the ministry of sports and ministry of defense, we want this stadium to be built to world class standards using military discipline,” the Head of State said Friday, as he broke ground for the stadium.
He added; “I will expect the defense team led by CS Duale (Aden) and the CDF to make sure that all timelines which we have agreed are kept by the contractor and I expect that there will be weekly supervision. I will be here myself every three months until this facility is completed.”
The Talanta City Stadium will be solely built to host football matches, and will have a sitting capacity of 60,000.
The President has also disclosed that there was a huge discussion over the venue of the stadium, with Jamhuri Grounds on Ngong Road and Shanzu area in Mombasa, both presenting strong cases to host the venue but ultimately, Jamhuri won.
Despite that, the President has said the Government is committed to build another stadium in Mombasa.
“We are seriously considering another stadium in Mombasa. There was a huge debate as to whether we should have this here or Mombasa. For many reasons, I was persuaded and we decided to have this facility here (Jamhuri) but we will equally find space in Mombasa to do a good low altitude stadium which will serve both athletics and other sports to train and compete in,” President Ruto says.
The Talanta City Stadium, whose construction will be supervised by the Kenya Defense Forces and construction work done by China Bridge Company is expected to be completed by December 2025, almost a year and a half before the 2027 Cup of Nations.
The Head of State says he is pleased with the commitment shown by both the Ministries of Defense and Sports in actualizing the work, with the Kasarani Stadium already in progress.
President Ruto, and Sports CS Ababu Namwamba announced that the stadium will be completed by December this year.
“I want to commend the work done over the last six months. We have had many meetings and a lot of back and forth because we wanted to make sure we are building a world class stadium in record time and cost effective,” President Ruto further states.
He has also commended the stadium plan which takes into account environmental factors, with renewable energy as well as the green spaces being maintained.
Meanwhile, the Head of State announced that the existing structures at the grounds, built during the last regime will not be touched, but will be instead spruced up to ensure that it can be used by the surrounding communities.
“No facility here will be lost and I have been assured that we will keep all facilities and this will also give an opportunity for the local community to come here and benefit, to also help them grow talent,” President Ruto stated.
