The construction work for the Proposed International Sports Center facility which will serve as the official stadium for the forthcoming Africa Cup of Nations 2027, has entered the second phase in Arusha.
This segment entails the starting point of the installation of the pillars and overhead roofing for the AFCON 2027 stadium.
The building project is executed by China Railway Construction Engineering Group (CRCEG).
Deputy Minister for Information, Culture and Sports, Hamis Mwinjuma lauded the Chinese construction company in adhering to the timeframe saying the project is going at the right speed towards the deadline.
Mwinjuma added that this will be the first time that a contractor manages to accomplish a project ahead of the deadline as attested during the completion of the first phase which beat the target by 20 days.
“This contract for the construction of AFCON stadium in Arusha was signed in March 2024 with the official work beginning in July of the same year, after the site handover procedure and other preliminary activities were completed.
The contractor was given the responsibility of designing, building, and making the necessary purchases that will complete the design of this project based on the guiding criteria,” Mwinjuma stated.
The project under the Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) system, is expected to be completed anytime from July 2026.
The Arusha Regional Commissioner Kenani Kihongosi said the 338 billion/- was more than just an AFCON 2027 stadium, but it forms a pillar of sports, culture and wellbeing in addition to improving the landscape of the city.
The chairperson of China Railway Construction Engineering Group (CRCEG), Wang Yusheng said the stadium project further cements the good working cooperation between China and Tanzania, through the ‘One-belt; One road initiative.’
“This stadium will be a new platform for football games, helping Tanzania grow in sports, improve the image of the city, and attract development opportunities. It will also bring new contributions to the economy of Arusha and Tanzania as a whole.
The joint ‘Pamoja’ bid to host the AFCON event in 2027 will see the three East African Countries of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda fork out more than USD 2.27 billion.
Arusha, which is the hub of Tanzania’s tourism industry, is banking hard on AFCON because the city is expected to host the final game of the prestigious continental soccer competition.
The new stadium with a seating capacity of 30,000 being constructed in Arusha at the cost of 286 billion Tanzanian shillings, is slated for completion between July and December 2026 ready for the 2027 events.
On the other hand, Tanzania will also be hosting AFCON matches at the 32,000 capacity Benjamin Mkapa Stadium, in Dar-es-salaam, which is the only CAF-certified arena in East Africa, the Kirumba Stadium of Mwanza as well as Dodoma and Zanzibar.
Kenya is working on various facilities, including the 60,000-seater Moi International Sports Centre of Kasarani which hosted the 1987 All African Games, the 30,000-seater Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi and Kipchoge Keino Stadium of Eldoret.
Uganda proposed the Mandela National Stadium of Namboole, as a potential venue, promising to also build two more venues the Akii Bua stadium in Lira as well as the Buhinga Stadium in Hoima, for the tournament and has again presented several other venues including Nakivubo Stadium.
AFCON 2027 hosted jointly by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda is expected to bring millions of people to East Africa, promote the region’s presence on the continent and globally even further.