National Council of Sports to modernise headquarters

In its quest to be more financially independent, National Council of Sports (NCS) has secured Public Private Partnerships worth $16m (about sh58 trilion) to modernise its headquarters in Lugogo.

The partnership with Ice Home of Canada and Wadi Degla Holdings from Egypt will see NCS break down its dilapidated MTN Arena that accommodates 900 and upgrade it to a 5,000 capacity facility that can different international sports events.

While unveiling the plan to the media at the venue yesterday, NCS chairman Bosco Onyik flanked by his vice chairman technical Zubair Galiwango and the project manager Bernard Ogwel said that the plans to advertise for bids is ongoing now.

The NCS announcements have come at a time Uganda Sports Union (USU) claiming ownership of the 3.4hectare land at Lugogo.

Asked how NCS could plans for new and modern facilities when the existing ones like the MTN Arena, Tennis club, hockey grounds, cricket oval among others in Lugogo are rundown, Onyik explained that they did not plan to do facelifts of the Public Private Partnerships.

"It makes no sense financially to have a plan to put up new facilities and spend on renovating what you want to replace with better ones. We shall only do minor renovations that is urgent," Onyik explained.

He said that currently NCS makes sh120m from its facilities but if the complex is constructed it would drastically increase their financial base and help them support more sports federations and associations.

"Funding for sports (in Uganda) has not come to what it should be but we cannot sit and wait for it to change. PPP is the way to go. We shall build one modern cricket oval, a football and hockey ground, three indoor stadia, a hotel and cafeteria," Galiwango said.

According to the plan after benchmarked with neighbouring Kenya, Ethiopia and Egypt NCS will offer tens of jobs to retired sports people and accommodate more sports disciplines at Lugogo.

Other than athletics for which government is putting up a facility in Teriet in eastern Uganda, eleven sports disciplines including swimming, football, hockey, rugby.

Although there is not enough sports related information about IEC Homes, Wadi Decla Holding is a multifaceted Egyptian company with projects ranging from sports facilities, telecommunications, to real estate developments and industrial projects in about 10 African countries, Europe and Asia.

The company also owns different academies and sports clubs in Egypt and Kenya among other countries.

Galiwango said that NCS would not respond to Uganda Sports Union because their claims of ownership are not genuine and are meant to distract their development plans.