Sports Ministry announces budget for Essipon Stadium renovation

An amount of $3,086,206 (GH¢17,969,447) has been set aside to renovate the Essipun Sports Stadium over a period of 12 months.

The initial phase which is expected to begin immediately would involve the replacement of defective roofing sheets and works on damaged roof structural steel frames.

Also, waterproof treatment would be applied to leaky areas with plans to also safeguard against corrosion of all metal structures by applying heavy-duty coating.

This was disclosed by the Minister of Youth and Sports (MoYS), Isaac Kwame Asiamah

Who led an inspection team that also included the National Sports Authority boss, Prof Peter Twumasi and other stakeholders.

The exercise will also see the renovation of elevators, the fire-fighting system, air condition units, offices and plumbing works involving defective sanitary appliances.

This would be the first major facelift the facility would receive after it was built for the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament would form part of a national agenda to rehabilitate all stadiums across the country.

Mr Asiamah indicated that to prevent the sporting arenas from falling into deplorable conditions in the future, specific maintenance models would be drafted and implemented.

He stated that after Essipun was brought back to life, the ministry will ensure religious maintenance culture, adding that “we will provide maintenance manuals for all the stadia that we are renovating.”

The project will be supervised by the Architectural and Engineering Services (AESL) Limited with CISDAN Limited serving as the contractors.