US$25 million needed for National Sports Stadium

THE National Sports Stadium in Harare needs a complete refurbishment estimated to cost US$25 million, according to Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion Minister, Professor Mthuli Ncube.

Responding to a question in Parliament on Wednesday, Prof Ncube said only US$6,75 million has been contracted so far, with US$3,8 million having been paid in full for infrastructural developments, including security systems and a ticketing system.

The remaining works needed include palisade fencing, groundworks, beautification and paving of roads, costing US$5,6 million, with an additional 10 percent contingency fee totalling US$2,3 million.

“Engagements with the Ministry of Sports, Recreation, Arts and Culture indicated that to date, only US$6,75 million of work has been contracted and this relates to infrastructural development, including water reticulation, installation of the security systems such as the VOC, CCTV and access control equipment as well as the ticketing system for the National Sports Stadium.

“Out of this amount, the total value of work done and certified amounts to US$3,8 million, which has since been paid for in full. Let me now turn to the schedule of contractors for the refurbishment of the Sports Stadium.

“Presentations made by the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works during a technical meeting held in July 2024 indicated that a total budget of US$25,4 million is required for the refurbishment of the National Sports Stadium of which US$17,5 million was related to the refurbishment of infrastructure, improvement in security and access control and US$7,9 million is targeting other works such as palisade fencing, groundwork and other ancillary works,” said Prof Ncube.

The budget for water reticulation is US$920 140, while turnstiles, ticketing VOC, CCTV and access control has a US$2,4 million budget.

Lights, generator, and main arena generator will cost about US$2 million, and floodlights and structural steel are US$1 million.

“From our engagement with key stakeholders, it would appear that there is no predictable implementation and cash flow plan with attended milestones to effectively execute the required works at the stadium, given that only US$6,5 million out of US$25,4 million has been contracted out,” said Prof Ncube.

The stadium has failed to meet the standards set by Caf for international matches, resulting in the Warriors and the country’s representative teams in the Caf inter-club competitions playing their home matches outside Zimbabwe.

Dynamos used Francistown in Botswana for their second preliminary round tie against Orapa United in the Caf Confederation Cup. Similarly, the Warriors hosted Cameroon in Kampala, Uganda, for their 2025 Afcon qualifier.

Prof Ncube said a comprehensive implementation and cash flow plan is needed to facilitate the required refurbishments for the stadium, with only US$6,5 million contracted out of the total budget. – @brandon_malvin