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 SPORTS INFRASTRUCTURE 

The Ugandan government has signed a contract with Turkish construction company M/S Summa, for the construction of a 20,000-seater multi-purpose stadium in Hoima city ahead of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations.

Uganda will jointly host the 2027 edition of Africa's flagship football tournament with neighbours Kenya and Tanzania.

Hoima City Stadium is one of the stadiums planned to host some of the matches.

It will be constructed within 18 months and is required to be ready by December 2025. 

To ensure this goes to plan, the works ministry, supported by the recently inaugurated Africa Cup of Nations sub-committee on infrastructure, will supervise this key project.

The contract signing ceremony was hosted by the First Lady and Minister of Education and Sports, Janet Museveni, at State House Nakasero in Kampala on Friday (June 7).

Dr Bernard Patrick Ogwel signed on behalf of the government and the National Council of Sports (NCS) in his capacity as the secretary general of NCS. Selim Bora signed on behalf of M/S Summa.

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The process was guided by John Bosco Suza, the director of Legal Advisory Services, who represented the Attorney General.

Ministers, area MPs, other senior government officials, members of the business and sports fraternities as well as representatives from M/S Summa attended the ceremony.

Prior to the contract signing, lands minister Judith Nabakooba handed over a land title of 34.9 acres for the Hoima City Stadium. 

The title, in the name of National Council of Sports, was presented to the First Lady, who then handed it to the chairman of NCS, Ambrose Tashobya.

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Mrs Museveni appreciated all the people who have been proactive in the process of developing sports infrastructure in preparation for AFCON 2027. 

She thanked President Yoweri Museveni, Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja, Parliament, Uganda's football governing body FUFA, the family of the late Dr James Rujumba, the business community, and the general public for support football and sports in general.

“Today marks the culmination of the tireless efforts of various people from both the government and the private sector who have gone beyond the call of duty to ensure that we begin the process of developing sports infrastructure in preparation for the Africa Cup of Nations 2027,” she said.

She said that following the guidance of President Museveni, M/S Summa was secured to undertake construction works for the stadium in Hoima City within 18 months.

The Turkish company has previously been contracted by Rwanda, Senegal and other countries for sports infrastructure projects.

Uganda's education and sports minister appealed to the company to deliver as per the plan.

"Do not let Ugandans down because hosting the Africa Cup of Nations is a golden opportunity whose benefits go beyond football to a country," she said.

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Mrs Museveni also underlined the need to ensure value for money in this project.

She appealed to the finance ministry to ensure that resources are released on time to avoid disruptions during project implementation due to the very tight deadline.

She reassured Ugandans of the Government's commitment to developing other stadiums, including Akii Bua, Buhinga and Kakyeka.

This is in addition to other sports infrastructure developments such as the Lugogo sports complex and the second and third phases of the National High Altitude Training Centre in Teryet, Kapchorwa.

The First Lady said the government is taking deliberate action to invest in sports infrastructure in order to develop and professionalize the abundant talent in different disciplines and to generate revenue. 

Therefore, she tasked sports state minister Peter Ogwang with developing a concept for the management of all sports facilities to ensure that the government benefits from its investments.

Mrs Museveni urged Ugandans to emulate the late Rujumba's family, who donated 10 acres of land where the stadium will be constructed. 

FUFA donated an additional 10 acres, and the remaining 14 acres were secured with funding from the government.

In her remarks presented by security minister Maj. Gen. Jim Muhwezi, PM Nabbanja described the signing of the contract as a landmark event that advances the NRM Government's transformative development agenda.

Nabbanja commended the President and First Lady for their efforts towards the realization of this high-impact project, which she said will increase the stock of strategic sports infrastructure in Uganda.

She also appreciated M/S Summa for partnering with the government in the construction of the facility.

On his part, minister Ogwang reported that in Rwanda, M/S Summa constructed the Kigali Arena and renovated Amahoro Stadium into a state-of-the-art facility. 

In the same spirit, Ogwang rallied the Turkish firm to deliver an excellent job on the people's project by December 31, 2025.

He pointed out the need for Uganda to develop holistic plans to tap into sports tourism to generate revenue for the country. 

Citing Rwanda as an example, the sports state minister said Uganda's southwestern neighbour generates almost $1 billion (sh3.82 trillion) for the government every year from sports tourism.

Ogwang also reported that a memorandum of understanding was signed with the defense ministry to undertake works for the construction of training facilities, starting with the Kyambogo University grounds.

Group photo 📸