A Chinese company behind the construction of the construction of the 472 km-long Nairobi-Mombasa Standard Gauge Railway (SGR), the Nairobi Moja Expressway has secured the contract to construct the 60,000-seater Talanta Sports City in Nairobi Kenya.

China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) which is headquartered in Beijing, the largest subsidiary of the Fortune Global 500 company, China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) has been tasked to complete the new stadium within the next 20 months, as part of the preparations for the 2027 African Cup of Nations.

Cabinet Secretary for Sports, Youth and Arts Ababu Namwamba handed over the management of the construction of the new stadium to the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) in September last year.

President William Ruto while officiating the groundbreaking ceremony called for diligence in the construction of the Talanta Sports City at the Jamhuri Grounds along Ngong Road, Nairobi.

The 60,000-capacity stadium will be one of the host venues earmarked for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).

The President said he expected nothing less than perfect workmanship on the project and said he would personally inspect it.

“I have agreed with the Ministry of Sports and the Ministry of Defence that this stadium will be built to world class standards with military discipline. I will therefore expect our defence team – Aden Duale and the CDF – to ensure that all the timelines we have agreed are met by the contractor. I also expect that there will be weekly and bi-weekly supervision and I will be here myself every three months until this facility is completed,” the President said.

The project is set to be completed in record less than two years and is customised to be the only football design tailored for soccer, rugby and elite concerts.

It is the first-ever new facility to be constructed in the country in decades after Nyayo and the Chinese built Kasarani stadium.

On his part, Sports Cabinet Secretary Ababu Namwamba who spoke during the event, said that the project is of a unique design that oozes a distinct Kenyan flavour, curated to reflect the best of Kenyan culture.

“We have spent six months of intense work behind the scenes to conceive and curate what promises to be an iconic landmark,” he said.

“It is a compact edifice curated to accentuate electric passionate atmosphere that will always hand Kenya teams that crucial 12-man advantage for every home game.”

The project was approved in October 2023 with the personnel from the KDF who are already on-site at Kasarani, set to deploy for the works.

Unlike the rest of the stadiums in the country, Talanta Sports City’s design will be a compact layout aimed at enhancing the electric atmosphere, providing Kenyan teams with a distinct advantage in every home game.

The facility is aligned with the green agenda, incorporating renewable energy solutions to minimize its environmental impact.

The sports complex is also set to feature state-of-the-art technology, including top-level TV broadcast capabilities, VAR, and goal-line technology, placing it on par with the world’s leading sporting venues.