The Africa cup of nations (AFCON 2027) infrastructure will be ready in time, the UPDF Engineering brigade has reiterated.
The national army was contracted to build the Afcon 2027 infrastructure, including match venues, training grounds and roads.
Project engineer, Lt. Col. Peter Kidemuka re-affirmed the UPDF commitment as he faced the Parliament’s Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE), chaired by Kyadondo East MP Muwada Nkunyingi, following queries raised by the Auditor General in the 2024/2025 financial year audit.
“We are working day and night to complete these projects and the national army has the full capacity to do. We thank the president, the First Lady and the CDF for the trust and support. Look at Namboole, we are headed to the roofing stage while other training grounds works are ongoing as planned,” noted Kidemuka.
Members of Parliament demanded a comprehensive account of expenditure on the Shs20.2 billion Kyambogo Training Facility, questioning discrepancies between approved construction specifications and works delivered, as well as the payment and supervision arrangements.
Kidemuka told the committee that the project had not been contractually divided into phases as presented by the Auditor General, but rather implemented through administrative arrangements influenced by the availability of government funding.
He explained that although the original Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) provided for one project, the government released funds in instalments, forcing the implementing team to prioritise selected works.
Kidemuka said the first release amounted to Shs6 billion, which was directed towards essential facilities intended to make the venue usable for sporting activities.
He maintained that activities not undertaken during the initial implementation period were deferred to subsequent stages rather than abandoned.
The Auditor General had presented that the project had been implemented in phases, with Shs13.5 billion allocated to the first phase out of the approximately Shs20.2 billion total project funding.
Kidemuka maintained that they had prioritised the football pitch, floodlights and dressing rooms to meet tournament requirements while the transformer and borehole were also available.
The architect Maj. Eng. Patrick Asiimwe attributed some of the changes to redesigns and adjustments intended to accommodate requirements arising from the African Nations Championship (CHAN), including the conversion of some dressing-room areas into toilets.
He said that a December 2025 cost appraisal had re-assured the works and reduced their assessed value from Shs390 million to Shs377.9 million. He further said the appraisal reflected 19 windows and 13 doors, rather than the original provisions of 28 windows and 22 doors.
