Mahama Pushes for Tarkwa Stadium Model to Be Replicated Nationwide
President John Dramani Mahama has reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to addressing the lack of standard sports infrastructure across several regions, revealing that the government intends to replicate the Tarkwa GoldFields stadium model in areas without modern stadia.
Speaking at a media briefing on Wednesday night, the President disclosed that preliminary work is already underway at the Ministry of Sports and Recreation to design and cost the projects.
“We promised to build stadia in all the new regions and the regions that don’t have modern stadia. So, as I speak, the Ministry of Sports and Recreation is doing the design and costing of the stadia, and Upper East is one of the regions that has been captured to receive a new sports stadium,” Mahama said.
He underscored the cost-effectiveness of the Tarkwa project, contrasting it with the much higher figures that have historically been attached to government-funded facilities.
“What we are doing is, Tarkwa GoldFields built a standard stadium for their football activities, and I was surprised to learn it cost about $13 million.
When the Government of Ghana built a stadium, it cost hundreds of millions of dollars. Those of you who have been to Tarkwa and have seen the stadium, it’s a standard stadium, and it takes about 10,000 people. So, if GoldFields built it for $13 million, then government too should be able to do the same,” he explained.
Mahama further revealed that the government has engaged with the professionals behind the Tarkwa facility to ensure the same model can be replicated elsewhere.
“So, we’ve asked them to find out the architect, the designers, and everybody who worked on the stadium, so that we can replicate it in other regions that don’t have stadia,” he concluded.
