The OlympiaAfrica Sports Complex that Malawi Olympic Committee (MOC) is constructing in Lilongwe will be opened next month, MOC president Oscar Kanjala has said.
Kanjala said work on the first phase will be completed in two weeks.
“We have already constructed a football pitch. We are improving it to make it of high quality. We are also working on the field track. We are hopeful that by April, the place might be ready for use,” he said.
Kanjala also said the project delayed because they parted ways with the contractor whose contract expired.
“We are doing it ourselves now, but everything is shaping up. Heavy rains affected the work on the field track, but we are making progress,” he said.
According to MOC treasurer Jappie Mhango, the first phase of the project was supposed to be completed in 2010.
“The project became expensive [after devaluation] because the original budget could not be enough for the project. That was the reason for the delay,” he said.
Kanjala also said the second phase of the programme, which will see the construction of netball, basketball and volleyball courts, will wait for further funding from the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
“They cannot release funding until we finish the first phase. Had we finished the first phase within the initial time frame, IOC would have already released the funding for the next phase,” he said.
