First Lady to inspect Teryet training centre on Tuesday

The education and sports minister, First Lady Janet Museveni, is set to visit and inspect Teryet National High Performance Training Centre in Kapchorwa district on Tuesday (October 11).

She will be accompanied by the sports state minister, Peter Ogwang, who visited Teryet for the first time only a month ago.

Ogwang described Tuesday's visit as a "timely" one.

“Although the main purpose of Mama’s [First Lady's] visit is to officially launch the School Greening Project, she has thought it wise to make a stop-over and inspect as well as advise us on how best to handle the ongoing construction of Teryet,” he told New Vision.

In Parliament, Ogwang also represents Ngariam County in Katakwi district

“We expect to learn from Mama’s observations and carry on with implementation accordingly. This is a timely and motherly gesture, depicting her passion for sports.”

The education minister's inspection will follow other similar ones undertaken by different government officials at the multi-billion sports facility.

The key facilities have been completed and are ready for use. Photo by Javier Silas Omagor

On January 28 this year, Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja also visited Teryet, during which she hailed the government for establishing it and said it would lead to “an explosion of talent development" in Uganda.

At the time, Nabbanja toured part of the facility and planted trees around the area.

Denis Hamson Obua, who was the then-Minister of State for Sports, regularly visited Teryet to monitor the construction progress.

High-ranking officials from the line ministries and those from State House have often travelled to Kapchorwa for supervision.

The training centre idea was inspired by great performances by Ugandan athletes on the international scene, which impressed President Yoweri Museveni and the nation at large.

Wins by the likes of Moses Kipsiro, Dorcus Inzikuru and Stephen Kiprotich particularly impressed the head of state, who then directed the construction of the facility in 2012 to ease the athletes' training and nurture more talent.

But the state-financed project works only got underway in 2017. It was projected to last three years, with Chinese construction company COMPLANT in charge of the sh25b project.

The COVID-19 pandemic delayed the works.

'We are very close'

Minister Ogwang is now optimistic the project will be completed and handed over to the government by the end of this year (2022).

“We are very close and by the end of this year, our athletes will officially start using Teryet National High Altitude Training Centre,” he said.

In a bid to fuse education and sports, the athletics training facility also features both a primary and secondary school, costing over sh2.5b.

It is one of these schools, Teryet Senior Secondary School, that the First Lady will use to launch the nationwide School Greening Project.

Besides athletics, Teryet, which sits 2,575 metres above sea level, will also host training for football, basketball, and volleyball, among disciplines.

According to the sports ministry, once phase one is commissioned, phase two which includes the construction of a five-star hotel and a pavilion will get underway.