ADDIS ABABA - ETHIOPIAN league champions Saint George on Friday signed an agreement with a Chinese construction company to build the nation's first purpose-built ground, a club official said.

Club chief Abennet Gebremeskel signed the deal with CJIC to construct the stadium in the east of Addis Ababa.

'The stadium will cost us 247 million birr (S$27.8 million)) and is expected to be completed in 24 months,' he told a press conference.

The ground will be named Sheikh Hussein Mohammed Al Amoudi Stadium after its patron, who will cover 80 per cent of total costs, Abennet added.

Saint George, the country's oldest and most successful football club, are reigning champions of Ethiopia's 18-team Premier League and have been crowned champions seven times this decade.

Chinese companies have become a regular feature in African stadia construction, most notably in Angola for this year's Africa Cup of Nations tournament. --

AFP