Civo Stadium rehab costs K100 million
R
egion 5 Youth Games Local Organising Committee chief executive officer Mercy Mabvumbwe yesterday handed over the rehabilitated Civo Stadium to the Office of President and Cabinet (OPC).
The rehabilitation of the pitch, done by Mchepa Landscape, was pegged at K55 million while the watering system installation cost K40 million.
Speaking during the handover, Mabvumbwe commended the contactor for meeting specific recommendations made by Fifa and CAF.
She said: “Great work has been done here. We were advised that no local contractors can do this kind of work. We were told to hire a South African contractor but we stuck to our decision to trust in local capacity and Mchepa Landscape have demonstrated that we can do it at local level.”
Mabvumbwe said the Regional 5 Games Local Organising Committee committed to rehabilitate Civo, Silver Stadium and Bingu National Stadium as part of the 2022 Youth Games legacy.
and other officials during inspection before the handover
“Today we are handing over just the pitch and not the whole facility because the league will be starting soon. But we will have another event to hand over the whole facility,” she said.
The new pitch has a new well-designed ground drainage to ensure that when it is raining, the pitch should not be waterlogged.
Mabvumbwe said apart from the pitch work R5YG LOC engaged WaterTech to construct a ground watering system complete with 80 Meyers deep well, electric water pump, three huge tanks and 30 sprinklers.
Lyson Kandu, deputy director of administration at OPC, who manages Civo Stadium and the football club, said they were impressed with the quality work.
“After inspecting the facility, I can say I am impressed with the good work. It looks nice indeed. You know the league will be starting soon so the pitch had to be handed over. But there will be a formal handover of the whole facility. We will work to ensure standards can be sustained,” he said. Ministry of Youth and Sports principal officer Chancy Malamulo also expressed satisfaction with the work done,” he said.
Last year, Lilongwe Water Board disconnected water at the facility because of unpaid bills estimated in millions.
