Turkish construction company Summa has landed the contract to develop a new 50,000-capacity stadium that will serve as the centrepiece of Senegal’s staging of the 2022 Summer Youth Olympic Games (YOG).
The appointment was announced during a meeting between Senegal’s President, Macky Sall, and his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Turkey has been increasing its presence in the West African country and the stadium deal was one of a number of agreements that were signed concerning investment in education, sport and disaster management projects.
Earlier this month, the Senegalese government signed a financing agreement for the new stadium with British financial services company Standard Chartered. The Jeune Afrique magazine said work on the stadium, to be developed in the new city of Diamniadio, is due to commence on February 20 and will take around 17 months to complete.
The €238m (£200.2m/$262.9m) project was revealed as Dakar was confirmed as the first African host of an Olympic event in October 2018. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said that the Senegalese capital presented the best value proposition and the “greatest opportunities” at that time. Senegal has a large youth population and views the YOG as a catalyst for engaging young people and developing the country’s sport and youth policy.
Significant investments are being made toward youth and sport as part of the country’s overarching framework ‘Plan Sénégal émergent’, which sets out President Sall’s vision to 2035. The competitions and activities will be held across three cities, with Diamniadio and the coastal city of Saly joining Dakar.
Image: IOC
Share this