MASAKA.
Masaka City leaders led by Nyendo/ Mukungwe Municipality legislator Mathias Mpuuga have tasked the contractor for Masaka Recreation Ground to expeditiously handle the project and hand it over in 18 months as indicated in the contract.
Construction works for the project being undertaken by Kaleta Constructions Limited kicked off last August, three months after the site was handed over to the contractor.
According to Mr Mpuuga , if the project delays it may affect Masaka’s chances of serving as a training ground for CAF TotalEnergies African Nations Championship (CHAN) football tournament .
Originally slated for February 1–28, 2025, CHAN has since been rescheduled to August 2025 to allow host nations additional time to finalize preparations following reports of insufficient readiness.
“We are happy that the construction works are progressing well, though the project started at a slow a pace, but we need the contractor to expedite the construction works because we are hopeful that it can be used as a training ground, for the upcoming CHAN tournament, we expect that the available funds can be utilized well so that we can lobby for more funds to complete the project.” Mpuuga said during a site visit to assess the progress of the Shs19b project .
Mr John Lule, of CornerStone Designers and Engineering Company Limited, the supervising consultant of the project , said that though they were delayed by several activities in the initial stages of the stadium ,the contractor is progressing well and work currently stands at 52 percent.
The first phase of the project focuses on constructing the eastern and western pavilions (steel and concrete respectively) and laying an artificial turf .
In the second phase of the project, the contractor will construct the athletics pitch, two extra stands, swimming pool, and a gym among others.
Mr Lule said the contractor is expected to complete the first phase by November.
“Considering the current progress, the contractor is doing well and areas covered so far are promising .We expect after removing the dirty material by November ,we shall be working on the pitch to put the artificial turf to complete the first phase by November 24 as per the contract,” he said
He however raised concern over the challenge of price fluctuations of construction materials which have almost doubled since the project kicked off , which he said has negatively affected their operations.
After completion, the upgraded stadium will have a sitting capacity of 15,000 people, with space for several indoor games including basketball and volleyball courts among other facilities.
The stadia will also have conference rooms, offices, restaurants and guest houses, security rooms and parking lots for VIPs and ambulances. There will also be shops to raise some revenue to help maintain the facility.
Opened in 1954 by Sir Andrew Cohen, the former British Governor, the existing stadium commonly known as Masaka Recreation Ground has not had any major renovation in the last 68 years.