Paul Biya Stadium to be Ready in November

Paul Biya Stadium will be ready in November, the Cameroon Minister of Sports and Physical Education, Prof Narcisse Mouelle Kombi has assured.

The 60,000 capacity stadium was due to be completed in December last year but it has been lagging behind following the expulsion of Italian contractor Piccini.

So far, functional elements including the media area are operational, but the construction personnel are now putting the final touches on the tartan track.

Kombi recently visited the site and after talks with current contractor Marc Debandt, he expressed satisfaction with the ongoing works at the facility.

“By November, Paul Biya Stadium will be ready to host international matches. But the work is expected to be ready before the upcoming Nations Cup qualifiers,” Kombi told reporters.

The contractor is expected to start work on the drainage system and electrical wiring in the coming weeks with the project set to end with the two training stadiums.

The Paul Biya Stadium is under construction on a surface area of 34 hectares (84 acres) in the Olembe neighbourhood in Yaounde, some 13 kilometres from the city centre.

Upon completion, the stadium will be the largest in all of Cameroon, tied as the second largest in West Africa, ninth-largest in Africa, and tied for tenth-largest in Africa after the completion of the Grand Stade de Casablanca in 2025.

The Paul Biya Stadium will host the opening and closing ceremonies of the 33rd edition of the African Cup of Nations in 2022.