Luanar students hail NBM plc for renovating Basketball Court

Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (Luanar) students have hailed National Bank of Malawi (NBM) plc for renovating a Basketball Court at the Bunda Campus saying it will motivate a lot of students to take up the sport.

Director of Students Affairs at Luanar, Ronnie Mvula spoke when NBM plc officials toured the facility to appreciate progress on the renovations of the Basketball court.

“The refurbished facility will encourage more students to join the sport and also ensure Luanar has a strong basketball team. Last year we had Tessam games in Lilongwe but we could not host any games here including basketball, because our facilities were not good. So, the coming in of National Bank to renovate the Basketball Court is timely and welcome,” said Mvula.

“The renovation is in phases, the first one is about the court, then they will include the floodlights so games can be played even at night, but also they will provide stands for both sides of the court,” added Mvula.

Students’ representative, Wesham Mwala Moyo said the coming in of the new court has excited the students especially basketball players.

“You can be great players but not having the right facilities can affect the outcome of how you play during game time,” said Mwala Moyo.

During the Mo626 College Basketball tournament launch in September last year, NBM committed to refurbishing Luanar and University of Malawi (Unima) basketball courts as a way of leaving a lasting legacy in the sports infrastructure development.  

The Bank’s Accounts Relationship Manager Monica Zinyemba said the basketball court was in a sorry state prompting the Bank to intervene.

Zinyemba expressed satisfaction with the progress of the works taking place at the facility. 

“We thought it was safe for the students to be playing on a very modern court. It is supposed to be completed by January 25, and handovers will be done immediately after that so that students can start using it once they open the new semester,” said Zinyemba.

Mo626 College Basketball Ambassador Hayze Engola spiced up the inspection tour by interacting and giving out NBM-branded items to the players.

NBM is expected to pump K40 million into the Luanar basketball court renovation project.