Story by Lawrence Trusida, Sport Editor
THE National Sports Stadium has remained closed since last year, following a ban on hosting international matches due to several infrastructural issues.
Among the primary concerns raised were the absence of bucket seats, the lack of electronic turnstiles, and deficiencies in the water reticulation system.
On Tuesday, the Minister of Sports, Recreation and Arts, Dr Kirsty Coventry, conducted a tour of the stadium to assess the situation firsthand.
“I am happy there is progress, yes the process was delayed and we were all equally concerned but we are back on track, bucket seats are being installed, the water works are in progress.
“We encountered some challenges dealing with an old stadium, but this also gave us a proper appreciation of everything, and we get to fix all the areas. We are working with ZIFA, CAF and FIFA and we are expecting them soon to come, they have already given us guidance on what we are doing now so very soon we should he hearing from them again,” Minister Coventry said.
The refurbishment of the stadium is a joint effort between the government and Sakunda Holdings that has purchased the bucket seats, while the government is taking care of the rest of the areas.
“The delays were basically due to the slow release of funds from treasury but they have always communicated when there were delays and we are now moving smoothly and we do not anticipate any hiccups,” Minister Coventry said.
Engineer Nicholas Mutengu, who is leading the refurbishment gave an update on the scope of works.
“We are working on the turnstiles, bucket seats, water reticulation for the stadium and the ablution facilities, we are also working on the lights, we are removing the ones here and putting in LEDs that save power and we are also installing back-up generators for the facility,” he said.
To date, one of the nine electronic turnstiles has been installed, while two more will be installed for people with disabilities, with the works expected to be done by the end of April.
Works on the turf have also started, and the government has enlisted the services of the curators from Zimbabwe Cricket who attend the field at Harare Sports Club.
The installation of bucket seats has resumed, and to date, VIP bays 15-18 have been finished, while bays 19-21, which are part of the rest of the ground, are almost done.
