President William Ruto has announced that Talanta Sports Stadium will be completed this month in readiness for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) that Kenya will co-host together with Uganda and Tanzania.
The 60, 000 capacity facility was initially supposed to have been completed late 2025 but was pushed to March this year but President Ruto assured that the contractor was working round the clock to complete works earlier than expected.
The move, he said, will allow sufficient time to test matches and readiness ahead of the competition that is scheduled to take place in June-July 2027, with matches spread across major cities and stadiums in the three East African countries.
HIGH PROFILE
“The stadium which I have agreed to be renamed after the late (Prime Minister) Raila Odinga, in recognition of his contribution to the nation’s political and democratic space, is progressing well and will be completed this month,” Dr Ruto said.
Once complete, the modern sporting facility under construction within Nairobi’s Jamhuri area will host high-profile continental matches, with Ruto saying the stadium was part of his administration’s broader plan to position Kenya as a serious player in global sports.
It will feature an array of facilities including VIP and VVIP lounges, media and broadcasting centres and Video Assistant Referee (VAR) and goal-line technologies as well as a shopping mall and hotel among other facilities.
President Ruto further revealed that 21 modern stadia were under construction or rehabilitation countrywide in efforts to nurture talent.
This as the government committed Sh1.4 billion towards completion of Kakamega’s Bukhungu stadium with the Head of State announcing the 25, 000-seater facility, the largest in Western Kenya, will be ready by December this year.
MODERN MARKETS
Ruto said the investment was his government’s wider plan for Kakamega County, where Sh35 billion worth of projects will be rolled out in the current financial year.
They include Sh15 billion affordable housing program, Sh2.5 billion for construction of 20 modern markets, Sh3.5 billion for construction of hostels to accommodate 10, 000 Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC) students and Sh1 billion for the Kakamega Level 6 Hospital.
Some Sh400 million will also be injected into Kakamega Airport.
“I will come back here next month (February) to roll out road projects and an electrification program that will connect 34, 000 families to the national grid,” Ruto said when he graced Governor Fernandes Barasa’s Cup at Bukhungu stadium.
