Sam Nujoma Stadium in Katutura, held an official handover of the refurbishment site has just taken place.

With an investment of 13 million, this project marks the beginning of long-awaited upgrades to one of Namibia's most iconic sporting venues.

City of Windhoek Engineer Puumue Kustaa explained that while the stadium's grandstand was structurally sound, a number of precast elements had shifted out of place and required urgent correction.

Puumue Kustaa: "This project, just a quick overview, the project duration is one year, so hopefully by next year, this time, this project will be completed. The project cost is around 13 million Namibian dollars, including VAT. So in summary, according to the structural report, there were no major concerns with regards to the grandstand. Only the precast elements that have been moved out of place, and the contractor is now here to just correct those minor movements."

Manager for Parks and Sports, Uakazuvaka Kazombiaze, said the renovations were crucial in meeting CAF and FIFA standards, and stressed that further upgrades beyond the structural work would still be required before the stadium could host international matches again.

Uakazuvaka Kazombiaze: "The stadium was closed due to inspection by CAF and FIFA, because of certain requirements that the stadium did not meet. So the renovations, in terms of us renovating the stadium, is in line with the CAF and the FIFA report that we have received. So after the structural refurbishment of the stadium, the stadium will not be ready for use, because there are other cosmetic upgrades that need to be done, in order for us to open the stadium for soccer matches, or for events for that matter. So those cosmetic upgrades would be the pitch itself, the turf. The artificial turf is not up to standard. So it must be replaced before we actually start utilizing the stadium fully for soccer matches."

Kustaa added that the contractor had been appointed through an open national bidding process, in line with Namibia's procurement laws, and assured the public that deadlines would be closely monitored.

Puumue Kustaa: "The contractor has submitted a program of works, which includes the provision for a one-month build as holiday. And then there are also contractual obligations that the contractor needs to meet. If it so happens that there are any delays, there are penalty clauses in the contract that we can exercise in order to ensure that the contractor meets these deadlines. So please have some confidence in us. We are going to do our very best to ensure that this project is completed. And then there was another question on how the contractor was chosen. He was chosen through the open national bidding process, which is in line with our procurement act. So it was an open bid advertised in the newspapers and a few contractors applied and he was a successfully selected contractor for this contract."

Representing the contractor, Homateni Kapewangolo from New Success Investments, expressed confidence that the project would be delivered to international standards, while also creating employment opportunities for up to 60 workers.

Homateni Kapewangolo: "On behalf of the board and the management of New Success Investments, we are very confident in our capacity in terms of delivering on the project objectives. We are going to implement practices to international standards when it comes to refurbishing infrastructure such as the stadium. There is no doubt in our ability. We know how this project's success can be relied on so that important sporting activities can once again take place here."

Kazombiaze further confirmed that pre-booked events would be carefully managed to avoid disruptions, even as refurbishment continues.

Uakazuvaka Kazombiaze: "While the structural refurbishment is being stabilized, we will engage the contractor. There are pre-booked events that should be happening. We will also engage all those people or the entities that have pre-booked events at the facility in terms of what would be the way forward, because the stadium won't be closed for any other activity until further notice. But we'll engage the contractor. I think there are two or three events that were pre-prepared, but we'll see how it goes."

As work officially gets underway, the hope is that the Sam Nujoma Stadium will soon be restored to a facility that not only hosts top-level matches but also serves as a source of pride for both Windhoek residents and the nation at large.