Youth and Sports Minister Uchizi Mkandawire has said funds meant for the continuation of construction works of FCB Nyasa Big Bullets and Mighty Mukuru Wanderers stadia have been used to offset arrears the government had with project contractors.
This means the two domestic football giants will wait a little longer for the projects to be completed. Construction works at the two facilities were expected to resume after government allocated K800 million to the cause in the 2023-24 national budget.
However, despite the allocation of funds, there was no progress at the construction sites.
Mkandawire told Times Sport that government is pushing for considerable allocations for the projects to continue this year.
“Contractors are owed about K3 billion on those two projects and, this ending [fiscal] year, we were allocated K800 million. At budget review [point], additional funds were allocated and these [funds] have been used to offset the arrears,” Mkandawire said.
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This was the first time the two projects were allocated funds since 2020. Initially, the projects were supposed to be completed by the end of last year.
The projects started in 2020 but construction stalled due to lack of funds.
China Civil Engineering Construction Company emerged successful bidders for Bullets Stadium whereas Anhui Foreign Economic Construction (Group) Company, which also constructed Bingu National Stadium, is constructing Wanderers Stadium.
Bullets Chief Administration Officer Albert Chigoga said the club is optimistic that the project would resume in earnest.
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“We trust the process that government is taking to ensure that resumption of stadium construction works is on course. If the decision of government is for the benefit of us, as a beneficiary of the project, then we are fine with it,” Chigoga said.
Bullets Stadium, which was estimated at K3.8 billion, is being constructed in Zingwangwa whereas Wanderers’, which was estimated at K3.6 billion, is in Soche near Blantyre Teachers College.
Wanderers Chief Executive Officer Roosevelt Mpinganjira asked for more time before he could comment on the issue.
The two bitter rivals do not have a home despite being the oldest and most followed clubs in the country.
On top of that, they rent training facilities such as Blantyre Sports Club and Limbe Country Club, among others.
Both teams use the government-owned Kamuzu Stadium as their home ground.
Last year, the two teams requested government to hand over the projects to them but government turned down the request.
