Sports Cabinet Secretary Salim Mvurya has revealed that progress on the construction of Wote Stadium in Makueni County is currently at 70 per cent of the planned scope.
Mvurya, while appearing before the Senate on Wednesday, July 23, revealed that phase one of the stadium’s construction was recently completed at Ksh299 million. He further added that the county government of Makueni was working in tandem with the national government to fast-track the stadium’s construction and completion.
The stadium construction works were commissioned by then Deputy President William Ruto in 2017, where Ruto declared that it would be complete within six months in line with the then Jubilee government’s pledge of building world-class sports facilities across the country.
Wote was one of the stadiums the Jubilee government had promised to construct in the lead-up to the 2017 General Election.
Upon completion, the stadium is projected to have a capacity of 20,000 and comfortably host national and international track events.
However, the project stalled, with residents concerned that the state-of-the-art sports facility was all a pipe dream after all.
CS Mvurya explained that delays in the stadium’s construction had been occasioned by several factors including change of site. The CS noted that the Makueni County Government changed the original site of the project, causing delays.
Another reason provided by the CS was that the new site presented topographical challenges, which necessitated the implementation of mitigation measures to stabilize the ground. This was in addition to the non-allocation of budget in the FY 2018/2019 and 2019/2020 which led to delays in paying contractors and consultants.
He also noted that contractual management challenges arose after the contractor was instructed to vacate the site.
“The project timelines have been extended multiple times, from the initial completion target of June 2018 to October 2020, February 2022, February 2024, January 2025, and now September 2025,” Mvurya further expressed.
Even so, Mvurya maintained that despite the challenges, the Ministry has prioritized the completion of the stadium.
“Current efforts are focused on completing the pending works, which include laying the athletics track, constructing players’ changing rooms, and building a public ablution block,” he stated.
“Other remaining tasks include completing the perimeter wall and gates, drilling a borehole, installing a pump for the irrigation system, and constructing a pump house,” Mvurya noted.
In addition, the CS noted that due to topographical challenges, the Ministry was reviewing the project scope to transform it into a functional training facility, featuring a football pitch, athletics track, players’ changing rooms, and a public ablution block.
Cumulatively, the CS projected that the project was set to be completed by December 2025.
