The Government Delivery Unit Ag. Head Sitati Olando has commended the pace of the ongoing works on the upgrade and completion of the iconic sports facility, Kipchoge Keino Stadium in Eldoret, Uasin Gishu County.
The GDU head was speaking in a meeting with stakeholders at Kipchoge Stadium including, SinoHydro Construction Company, Ministry of Defence, Sports Ke, County representation and the NGAOs, during a field verification visit to inspect various priority government facility across the North Rift region, like affordable housing, roads, water and others.
He lauded the contractor who despite various adverse weather challenges, has managed to achieve remarkable progress.
The construction works are currently at 18 percent and the contractor who is under supervision from the Ministry of Defence has assured fast tracking of the substantial structures once the excavations and support beam erection are done.
“The main upgrade works are set to be complete by December 2026 but we have agreed with the contractor to ensure it is ready by August 2026 for it allow the FIFA team to do approval, said The GDU Head, “This is a key sports facility in the area and will serve as one of the AFCON 2027 venues. We are committed to ensure it is ready ahead of time.”
Sitati further hinted at the additional the scopes of work which were not included in the initial contract, this include the tartan track, football pitch and other facilities as required by the FIFA standards.
He asked the contractor and the team to determine and provide the estimates for the additional works so that arrangements are made on time and the work gets started.
“We discovered that their other works not included in the initial contract, the pitch and the tartan track and we have discussed with the contractor and has assured us that it will be done in 3 to 4 months. This is very important to ensure the facility adheres to FIFA standards,” noted Olando.
In his remarks, Lt. Itobi Philip from the Ministry of Defence and In-charge of the oversight of the upgrade and construction works explained that the major task involves the upgrade of the stadium capacity from the previous 10,000 to 15,671 seats.
“We have already done the demolition of the north and south terraces to accommodate more people. The excavation of the north side is at 95 percent while the south one is at 60 percent, this is to erect beams to support the terraces,” explained Lt. Itobi.
He affirmed that once the foundation works at the terraces are done, they will speed up the whole process by doing concurrent construction of all the scopes of work as per the project while prioritizing the completion of substantial structures.
The ongoing renovations at Kipchoge Keino Stadium in Eldoret include the demolition of the old structure and construction of a new facility to meet CAF and World Athletics international standards.
These upgrades are part of Kenya’s preparations to co-host the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
The project is a collaboration between the Kenyan government, the Ministry of Defence, and contractors like Sinohydro Corporation.
The key scopes of work include seating capacity upgrade to more than 15000, installation of a modern tartan running track and a pitch suitable for both athletics and football events, structural demolition and construction to make way for a completely new, modern stadium design.
This includes the construction of new terraces, columns, and a perimeter wall.
The upgrade works also will feature ancillary facilities like new changing rooms, a conference hall, an indoor games hall, and improved parking areas.
Additionally, it will have infrastructure for international standards by featuring state-of-the-art amenities to meet the requirements for international competitions, including standard lighting for evening events.
By Ekuwam Sylvester
