Minister of Local Government and Rural Development Ben Phiri has said Ntcheu Stadium will be ready for use in September this year,
He made the statement at the weekend after visiting the 16 000-capacity facility, whose construction at Kandota Village in Traditional Authority Kwataine, started in 2017.
Phiri said although the K4.6 billion project is facing challenges such as rainfall, they are hopeful its completion will meet the September deadline.
“We expect that by September, the stadium will be ready for use,” he said. “Once that is done, we are hopeful that sporting and entertainment activities in the district will be scaled up.”
The minister added that the stadium will also help Ntcheu District Council as regards income generation.
Ntcheu District Council acting director of public works Godfrey Monto-Nyoka said the completion of the stadium was delayed due to challenges of architectural drawings and change of capacity from 20 000 to 16 000.
“People in Ntcheu should be assured of a high-quality facility when this project is completed. We are hopeful that people in the district will be satisfied as the stadium has facilities that will attract big football teams in the country,” he said.
Meanwhile, construction of the 20 000-capacity Thyolo Stadium is also taking shape as earthworks have been finalised.
Dec Construction Company project manager Ellard Malonda, whose firm is constructing the stadium, said the change of designs and soil moisture have affected the speed at which the project is progressing. “But we are on the right track as we have finished digging the VIP Stand’s foundation. We are hoping that the project will be done before the end of 2021,” he said.
