Cameroon has the most expensive football stadiums

Cameroon is carrying out construction works on stadiums like other African countries. However, in the opinion of experts, they are more expensive.

The daily newspaper l’Economie in its edition on newsstands of May 3, 2016 indicates that the two key football fields of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2019 in progress is already pointed as the most expensive in Africa. Yet the laying of the first stone, has not yet started. So this is an example from among many others, to show that in comparison with other African countries – those who establish sports facilities of the same capabilities as those conducted in Cameroon – the finding established that the costs are high, “even up to threefold” in the country of Paul Biya.

In the first category, which concerns football stadiums with a capacity of between 50 000 and 60 000 seats, it is noted that the one of Olembe in Cameroon will cost 163 billion CFA Francs. “The work to be done was entrusted to the Italian group Piccini. According to the Minister of Public Works, the tender documents drawn up to finalize the contract work was already validated and transmitted to the company on 9 December 2015, “the newspaper writes.

Yet the Malian stadium constructed in the same category as that of Olembe called “mars de Bamako” has cost 18 billion CFA Francs. One of Ebimpe in Abidjan still underway will cost 50 billion FCFA. It has a capacity of 50 000 seats. The Rades stadium in Tunisia has cost 49 billion FCFA.

The newspaper writes that despite the weight of inflation and also taking account of general price changes, stadiums built in the cities of Douala and Yaounde remain “beyond reasonable estimates of experts.” However, the ranking reveals that if Cameroon had built these stadiums earlier, it would have cost less if we must look at the cost of the Malian and Tunisian stadiums built between 2000 and 2001, respectively.