Mt Kenya University, Thika High to build Sh100m sports facility

Mount Kenya University (MKU) on Monday said it has inked a deal with Thika High School to develop a Sh100 million sporting field and an indoor arena.

Under the deal, Thika High School will provide the land while the university will develop the sporting facility that will be accessed by the two institutions and the public.

Peter Waweru, who is in-charge of students and alumni affairs at Mount Kenya University told Business Daily on Phone that the sporting field will sit on 12- acres and the groundwork has already kicked off having been approved by the Board of Management of Thika High School.

The sports facility is expected to be completed by May next year and the partnership runs for five years subject to renewal.

“Thika High School had the land but they did not have the resources to develop it and since we have previously collaborated with them on many areas, we saw the need to develop the idle land into a sporting field that will have an indoor arena that can host football, hockey among other sporting activities,” said Mr Waweru

He said the investment will also help the school earn revenue by hiring out the facility to the public for meetings or gatherings.

“The facility will also act as a platform to bring in an extra revenue to the school since they can hire out the venue to the public for meetings, weddings, or any other activity that requires a vast compound,” he added

The university said another factor that informed the decision to set up a sporting facility at Thika High School is that the institution has been hosting provincial games mainly from Mount Kenya region.

MKU said they will soon start working on an annex to the current Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) they have with Thika High School that will allow the school access the Sh300 million auditorium that the university is currently setting up at its main campus in Thika, Kiambu County. The auditorium has the capacity to host 3,000 people at any given time.

Mount Kenya University has been advancing its partnerships as part of growth plan in training and research.

Already, in Thika where its main campus is located, it has an agreement with Thika Level 5 Hospital for training and research targeting its medicine students.

The university also recently signed a partnership with Thika-based consumer goods manufacturer, Bidco Africa that allows its students gain industrial attachment to gain practical skills.