The construction of the much-anticipated Talanta Sports Stadium has finally begun in earnest after months of rumours, forecasts and hopes.
The facility's groundbreaking ceremony was presided over by President William Ruto on Friday at the Jamhuri Showground.
The development comes even as Kenya, together with its neighbours Tanzania and Uganda, continue to lay the ground to co-host the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations, with the Stadium serving as one of the main host locations.
The new sports complex is exclusively a football field; unlike all of our other stadiums, it does not have a running track. On the other hand, a secondary outdoor pitch will be available, which will have a running track.
Its initially anticipated "shield-like" structure has now been replaced with a more contemporary covered form that has excellent nighttime lighting.
As stated, construction will take place between March 2024 and December 2025, or a little less than two years.
That time frame should give the contractor some leeway just in case there are any unanticipated hiccups in the construction process.
The Kenya Defence Forces will oversee the construction of the stadium by the China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC).
The president declared during the groundbreaking that he would personally visit the location every three months to assess the site's progress.
Though the exact construction cost of the stadium remains a mystery, it is estimated to be in the billions of Shillings.
In Africa, comparable projects have cost upwards of Sh30 billion. For instance, the 60,000-capacity Alassanee Ouattara Stadium in Ivory Coast which hosted this year’s Afcon finals cost $257 million (Sh37.6 billion) six years ago. So it would be reasonable to expect Talanta to be in the same ballpark.
The blueprints for the Talanta Hela Stadium were revealed in September last year.
"There is a design that we had even made public, but when we shared that design with some of the people who have shown interest in executing the project, some fresh ideas came to the table, and there have been a lot of consultations," Sports Cabinet Secretary Ababu Namwamba told the media.
Kenya decided to involve the KDF in this huge project because of the military's outstanding accomplishment in building the 10,000-seat Ulinzi Sports Complex in the shortest amount of time.
According to Namwamba, the Ministry of Defence would oversee projects for "precision in execution and delivery" as the primary supervisor, while his ministry would provide funding.
“We have brought in the Ministry of Defence because it has been tried and tested,” said Namwamba, adding that they will focus on three things; speed, cost efficiency, and standards."
Namwamba said the design of the Talanta Stadium has three levels and draws its concept from the shield and two spears that are Kenya’s national emblem.
“Talanta Stadium will only host football, rugby, and concerts and not athletics,” said Namwamba.
The designs of the stadium which put into consideration the green renewable energy were done by the University of Nairobi's Enterprises and Services Limited with Professor Erastus Abonyo as the lead consultant.
If successful, it will be the first time the country is putting up a new international public stadium since the construction of the 60-seater Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani 36 years ago and the Nyayo National Stadium 40 years ago.
The design unveiled by the government shows the facility will have changing rooms for teams and match officials.
“There will also be a provision for medical rooms, doping control room and spectator-related areas, VIP, hospitality, media, TV, and broadcasting areas. Additionally, the government will construct ICT infrastructure and parking areas.”
The Confederation of African Football (Caf) requires the surface of the pitch to be green, levelled, and marked clearly in white. Markings on the pitch should be symmetric all over the field of play.
For evening matches, the floodlight capacity should be around 500 Lux. A minimum of 1200 Lux should be provided all over the pitch, covering uniformly every area of the playing field.
All the current teams and referees' dressing rooms should also meet international standards.