The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | CK Associates Limited has taken over the construction of Makerere University sports arena which kicked off five years ago with the intention of hosting the 3rd World University Netball Championships that took place in September 2018.
The university contracted the UPDF Engineering Brigade to hurriedly erect the arena due to the late delivery of funding. However, the UPDF Engineering Brigade failed to beat the deadline and decorated the facility with huge banners to cover the un-plastered walls to allow the tournament to take place.
The organizers provided tents which acted as changing rooms for the players and also erected mobile tolets. However, even after completing the tournament, the university failed to complete the sports arena.
Now, the university officials say that they have decided to contract CK Associates Limited to complete the work following the expiry of the contract of the UPDF Engineering Brigade.
Makerere University Secretary, Yusuf Kiranda says that the UPDF Engineering Brigade was supposed to complete the first phase of the project and hand over the arena to the University for completion.
Penninah Kabenge, the head of sports and recreation at Makerere University, says that CK Associates Limited is expected to complete the sports arena in one year.
According to Kabenge, the completion of the sports arena was delayed by the change of designs after the International University Sports Federation-FISU games, because of the expansion of the sitting capacity from 1,500 to 3,000, which took some time to get the necessary approvals.
The government released Shillings 5.57bn for the facility on the condition that construction would be by the UPDF Engineering Brigade. The arena was initially supposed to cost Shillings 5.57 billion but URN understands that the University will now incur extra costs to complete the facility.
Once completed, the multipurpose facility is expected to have a pavilion, stadium, offices, washrooms, parking lot, and access roads. It will provide an alternative for a multipurpose indoor stadium in Uganda.
Currently, the country only relies on the MTN Indoor Arena in Lugogo. Earlier this month, Uganda Netball Federation won the bid to host the 2023 edition of the Africa Netball Cup. However, Kabenge was noncommittal when asked whether or not the facility will be ready to host the Africa Netball championships.
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