AfricaPress-Tanzania: NEW sports complex currently under construction in Mirerani has now been abandoned because the project site has been flooded by torrential rains currently hitting Simanjiro District, Manyara Region.
As monsoons drench the Northern Zone, flood water submerging the giant stadium currently under construction has also swept in packs of fish that are consuming the newly planted grass on the football pitch.
“The grass is first of all rotting, due to the soaked pitch, but the decaying forage is attracting all types of fish that feed on them,” said Charles Mnyalu, the man behind the stadium project.
Mnyalu, who is the Director of Tanzanite Community Empowerment Organisation (TACEO), of Mirerani, working on the ambitious project, said the works have thus been shelved until, possibly in August this year.
He explained that, there is a large river nearby, which due to torrential rains, bursts its banks and pumped water into the project area, filling the entire playground.
Due to that the giant sports complex will have to wait until next year before complexion “It is no longer possible to accomplish the project this year, because we first have this flooding problem, then ongoing Coronavirus pandemic, which has shaken our finances,” he stated.
The Proposed Tanzanite Complex, which is large enough to accommodate 22,000 people at one sitting, should be larger than even the Sheikh Amri Abeid Stadium of Arusha because the latter takes at least 20,000 seated spectators at any event.
It was proposed to have four main sets of stalls, with the largest segment taking 12,000 spectators, followed with the one with 5,000 seating capacity, then another with 3,000 seats and finally the stall with 2,000 seats Mnyalu is also the organiser of Mirerani- Tanzanite Marathon and also serves as patron for the ‘Usalama Football Club,’ of Manyara Region, which is currently playing in the Second Division League (SDL), fixture.
He is also the founder of Tanzanite FC, which topped the Simanjiro District (Fourth Division), League. The Patron now wants to consolidate all sporting activities in the precinct under the new complex.
Once done, the grand sports complex will comprise a football pitch, basketball and tennis courts, netball grounds, athletics tracks’ arena, swimming area and training academy, a garden as well as hostel and hotel.
The related Tanzanite Academy training center for football development was meant to run alongside the project for the purpose of recruiting and grooming new talents from the Northern Zone Regions of Arusha, Manyara and Kilimanjaro.
