Narrative
Full Description
Project narrative
On November 5, 2021, China’s Ministry of Commerce issued an RMB 235 million grant to Gansu Construction Investment Holding Group Limited to implement the National Stadium Rehabilitation Project in Sierra Leone. The contract is being fully financed with a grant from the Chinese Government. The purpose of the project is to rehabilitate the National Stadium in Freetown, originally built with financial support from the Chinese Government in 1970s, so that it can support and host international sports competitions. This comes after Sierra Leone's near-disqualification from the Africa Cup of Nations, which was attributed to the lack of proper infrastructure. The project scope includes the restoration, reinforcement and redecoration of the main stadium, the swimming pool and its ancillary facilities, the renovation of the athletes' hostel, the construction of more than 1,200 square meters of new buildings and facilities, the renewal of drainage, power distribution, ventilation and air conditioning, the installation of a new display screen, artificial turf, synthetic rubber racing track and new lighting equipment, etc. The 572-square-meter ring road surrounding the stadium will also be refurbished. China's Gansu Construction Investment Holding Group Limited is the contractor responsible for project implementation. The completion date for the entire rehabilitation project was confirmed to be May 2024 by Gansu Construction in 2023. However, construction was still not complete as of December 2024. Preceding this particular rehabilitation project, the Chinese Government implemented eight phases of the National Stadium Technical Cooperation Project between 1996 and 2019 to support the maintenance and rehabilitation of the stadium.