Ethiopia to construct $22 million international sports stadium

Ethiopia on Sunday launched laid the foundation stone for the construction of a $22 million new international stadium, the Co-ordination Committee of the stadium said.

The international stadium, which is said to be the first of its kind in Ethiopia, will be built in Tigray regional state in the town of Mekelle, located some 700 kilometres north of Addis Ababa.

The Ethiopian Minister of Trade and Industry, Tadese Haile, who is also the chairman of the coordination committee of the stadium, said that the $22 million required for the construction of the stadium will be mobilized from the sports fraternity in the country.

“As part of this program, a fund raising event will be organized next Sunday to raise money for the construction of this stadium, which will contribute a meaningful input for the country’s football development,” said Haile.

The coordination committee said the stadium will accommodate around 30,000 spectators and will contain many modern facilities.

Ethiopia, a country with 77 million people and with millions of sports fans, has very few modern stadiums, and hardly any international standard stadiums.