Tamale, Sept.1, GNA - Eighty per cent of construction work on the Tamale Sports stadium slated to host the CAN 2208 has so far been completed within seven months.

The Shanghai Construction Group of China started work on the project in January 2006 and the stadium is expected to be completed in October 2007.

The stadium has a total site area of 26,831 hectares with a total building area of 22,517 square meters with a sitting capacity of 21,017. Mr. Mark Chen, the Project Coordinator made this known when the Northern Regional Minister, Alhaji Mustapha Ali Idris and the Tamale Municipal Chief Executive and other District Chief Executives from the region paid a working visit to the stadium on Thursday to inspect the progress of work.

The Project Coordinator said a total workforce of 230 made up of 150 Chinese and 80 Ghanaians are on site and explained that the Company had employed more Chinese because of their technical expertise and the time limit given for the completion of the project. Mr Chen assured the Regional Minister that work on the stadium would be completed ahead of schedule and handed over to the government. He however explained that work on a car parking facility for the stadium was not included as part of their construction work and the project for construction was therefore left for the government of Ghana to give the order.

Mr. Chen commended the Minister and the people of Tamale for their cooperation and the keen interest they had taken in the work on the stadium and described Ghanaians as "very friendly". Alhaji Idris commended the Shanghai Construction Group for their dedication to work and the efficiency and speed with which they were executing the project.

He said the construction of the stadium would go a long way to further enhance the cordial relations that exist between Ghana and China and hoped that more projects would be given to the constructor to further enhance the relations between the two countries. Alhaji Idris advised the Ghanaian workers on the project to take a cue from the discipline and attitude of work by the Chinese so as to learn some skills from them to assist them in their vocations. The Regional Minister also told the DCE's to take cue from the efforts of the Chinese with their efforts ate ensuring the early completion the project ahead of schedule. He said the efforts of Company has being as a result of their awareness of their paying a penalty if the project was not completed within the time frame for its execution.

The District Chief Executives expressed their satisfaction at the progress of work on the stadium and said they were particularly happy to note that work on the Tamale Stadium was progressing faster than those in the other regions. 01 Sept. 06