Ethiopia’s Ministry of Youth and Sports and state-owned China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC) yesterday signed an agreement for the construction of the new Addis Ababa National Stadium.
The $116.5m (2.47 billion birr) stadium, to be built on 48.8 hectares of land, will accommodate 60,000 spectators.
It will meet FIFA and IAAF requirements and could host both FIFA World Cup finals and Olympic games, Ethiopian broadcaster Fana reported.
The design contract for the stadium was awarded to Ethiopia’s MH Engineering.
Up to 40% of construction work will go to locals and the project is expected to create more than 2,000 local jobs, Fana said.
Redwan Hussien, Minister of Youth and Sports, attended the signing ceremony.
The work is expected to take just under three years.
According to Stadiumdb.com, the concept of a national stadium for Ethiopia was the subject of an international competition in 2012.
The sports-leisure hub will be built on a large, mostly unused area in the east of Addis Ababa.
Facilities for football, volleyball and basketball, and swimming pool will be provided.
Photograph: Artist’s render of the new Addis Ababa National Stadium (MH Engineering/Stadiumdb.com)
