Talanta Sports City cost rises to 45.8 billion shillings as project nears completion

The cost of building the Talanta Sports City that has the Raila Odinga International Stadium has gone up by a whopping 10.6 billion shillings, from an initial cost of 35.2 billion Kenya shillings to 45.8 billion shillings. Sports Cabinet Secretary Salim Mvurya says five factors contributed to the huge increase in the cost of construction of the stadium that is 87 percent complete. Value-added tax (VAT), railway development levy (RDL), customs duty, import declaration fees, and import charges for imported material all pushed the budget by additional billions. The CS says the project is not tax-exempt, and the ministry opted to do direct procurement due to the strict deadlines for delivery. Despite the China Road and Bridge Company being awarded the tender, Mvurya says all direct procurement procedures were followed. The works remaining at Talanta are planting of grass in the main stadium, construction of sky boxes, training pitches, the car park, and access roads.