The Zongo and Inner City Development Minister has said the Kyebi, Madina and Walewale communities will have their Astro Turfs projects completed latest by mid-October. Dr Mustapha Hamid told Joy News Monday that the contractors missed January 2019 completion date because of some changes to the original plan. “We decided that there was the need to expand the spectators’ area from what we had previously planned for. Also, the early plans did not have changing rooms, which we thought was neccesary.  “In the case of some of the Astro Turfs like the one in Madina, we wanted to add a children’s playground as well as a basketball court to it, which has caused the delay on that project,” he said.  President Nana Akufo Addo in his 2018 State of the Nation Address reiterated his government's commitment to sports development, revealing that a number of football pitches are under construction across the country. He said each constituency will have an astroturf and this will help produce the next generation of football stars.  “We are constructing a number of football pitches in the Zongos and across the rest of the country, to aid in the revival of colts football, which has been responsible for the production of talents like Abedi Pele and Tony Yeboah.” A deal between Wembley Sports Construction Company Limited and Turkish company, HATKO, was agreed late 2017 to roll out the ‘One Constituency One Artificial Football Turf’ project. The project began with the commencement of the construction of an artificial pitch in Madina which is expected to be completed by March. Ashiaman, Krowoe, Okaikoi Central, Okaikoi North, Gomoa East, South Tongu, Ablekuma Central, Shai Osudoku are expected to be amongst the first constituencies to benefit from the project. These projects have witnessed delays, but the Minister has assured that it was for a better reason.  “Due to the changes to the plans, we had to go through a fresh procurement process and seek funding from the Finance Ministry who in turn must send a request to parliament to approve the new budget for the project,” he explained. Dr Mustapha Hamid says he is excited that his Ministry has gotten all the approvals needed and expects the contractors to get to their respective project sites within the week to continue work.