By; SUNDAY ODE, Abuja.
Minister of Youth and Sport, Solomon Dalung Tuesday disclosed that bids for the concessioning of Lagos and Abuja stadiums will soon open in order to ensure full participation in the management of sports facilities in the country.
The Minister disclosed this while fielding questions from State House correspondents after a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Dalung who said he was in the State House to brief the President on the just concluded Paralympic in Rio Brazil noted that it had become impossible for government to manage some of the sport facilities.
He said the concessioning which had been approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) since 2012 would see to the provision of other facilities that would improve patronage of the exisisting facilities.
He said: “I agree that there is under utilisation of sport facilities in Abuja. That has taken us to the issue of concession. The facilities can’t be managed effectively by government looking at the budgetary allocation for even the maintenance.
“Government can’t maintain those things. So what we intend to do is to proceed with the concession process which we met on ground.
“FEC in 2012 had approved concession of Abuja and Lagos stadiums. We have proceeded with it and even appointed consultants. We are at the stage of getting the approval of BPE, from there we can now proceed to call for bids and engage the private sector so that we can run the concession arrangement with them so that they can come in.
“We have also received the drawing on the proposed transformation of the place which will include the creation of artificial lake in the Abuja stadium that will provide for 12 water sports; then the building of a five-star hotel here in Abuja. Lagos will have the same thing. The adjourning land will have a park and there will be a five-start hotel.
“The moment you put these two, the economic status of the stadium will be uplifted and you will have foreign athletes coming in because there will be facilities. That’s the best way we can maximise stadium in Abuja in view of how it was located.”
