Rehabilitation work at the stalled Kipchoge Keino stadium in Uasin Gishu has commenced after the contractor moved back to the site following negotiations by the government.
Speaking yesterday during a meeting with the Uasin Gishu County development implementation coordination committee, (CDICC) Shiv construction company representative Robinson Ochieng said they have already been paid Sh. 32m from a pending bill of Sh. 55m.
Rehabilitation of the stadium stalled in 2017 due to nonpayment that forced the contractor to pull out from the site, however the contractor agreed to resume work following negotiations with the ministry of sports.
Ochieng said they are prepared to ensure they compete the work by November and asked the government to honour its pledge to pay the balance of Sh. 22.9m as soon as possible.
“This is a debt that has been pending for more than three years and we hope that the government will honour its pledge to clear the payments”, he said.
He said they have already started backfilling and the first slab will be ready by next week. “By the end of November, we will complete the structure from ground floor to the roof of the third floor.”
The total cost for the rehabilitation was Sh. 325m.
Uasin Gishu county commissioner Abdirisak Jaldesa directed the construction company to ensure it undertakes quality work as much as it is hastening the completion of the project.
“We hope that the project will this time round be complete and we will be able to hold national events as a county,” said the CC adding that the stadium was not only one of President Uhuru Kenyatta’s legacy project, but was also important for sportsmen and women from the county.
In January 2017, Sports Kenya and the County Government of Uasin Gishu signed an agreement to renovate the stadium with works set to cover the VIP terraces, changing rooms, a conference hall, indoor games hall and terraces for between 15,000 to 25,000 spectators.
By Kiptanui Cherono
