Amahoro Stadium to be revamped and expanded

Citizens who learned that Amahoro national stadium is about to be expanded to suit international standards welcome the development but also argue that future constructions should take into consideration available structures to void regular renovations and upgrades.

In Remera sector, renovations are about to take place close to Amahoro national stadium like Petit Stade and the Paralympic playing hall. The other area that will be will be used for sports facilities include the current area where people conduct driving lessons, the police building, Remera health center, the FERWAFA hotel as well as MTN facility.

Some citizens say such initiatives are great but with some concerns as well.

Emmanuel Sibomana, a Kigali resident said: “When there are different development initiatives that need to be demolished to give way to others, it is good but it affects us. Like here at this health center, where shall we go next,”

Xavier Francois Rwagatare, another resident of Kigali said; “When they replace certain facilities with others, it is great and those in charge definitely have weighed the importance but even though some facilities will be destroyed, we prefer to have a long term master plan for all that,”

Besides, Kigali Arena that will not be affected, surrounding buildings like the FERWAFA Hotel and pitches will be done to create space for leisure and sports facilities. The Director General of Rwanda Housing Authority, Eric Serubibi explained the vision behind this project.

He said; "This project we call Kigali Sport City, will have more incentives added to it, like a swimming pool which was not here before, jogging paths, bike riding, leisure activities, we want to make this a place you can come to in the morning spend the whole day till evening having to access everything you want in sports and leisure. Not having lacked anything,"

Experts in urban development say that this project is important for citizens and will bring about more understanding of the country's vision and architecture.

Engineer Manasse Musonera told RBA: “We all see the master plan published by the city of Kigali. Everything is a journey if this is the government's plan, it’s good and must be appreciated. Citizens must understand that it is development for our country. Otherwise, we are in construction and we understand that construction goes well with demolition,''

This huge project will be run in three phases and will be completed by 2022, but the first phase will include work on Amahoro national stadium, and other pitches around it because towards the end of the year, there will be different tournaments hosted there.

Friday James reports…