CDA allots 35 acres for cricket stadium

[Salman]

CDA allots 35 acres for cricket stadium

ISLAMABAD: Capital Development Authority (CDA) Chairman Farkhand Iqbal has said that CDA has allotted 35 acres of land for a state-of-the-art international cricket stadium in the capital on first ever public-public partnership venture between CDA and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

Talking to reporters at the CDA headquarters on Tuesday, Iqbal said that the CDA would receive 30 percent of the income generated from the stadium. He said that the CDA share had been enhanced from 25 percent to 30 percent, which would provide a sustainable income generation stream to the authority.

The addition of a stadium is a landmark for the federal capital and sets a milestone for the government in its efforts to develop sport infrastructure and provide recreational facilities. The first ever international cricket stadium of the capital city would give a message of peace to the world and attract the international teams to play in the capital city, the most safe city of Pakistan.

He said that President Asif Ali Zardari had taken keen interest in developing the stadium in Islamabad and assured full cooperation of the government for early development of the facility, which would also be beneficial for the players of the less facilitated areas like, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Federally Administered Tribal Areas and Azad Kashmir.

The stadium will be completed in one year whereas the allied facilities, including an academy, will be developed in three years, he said, adding that the establishment of the state-of-the-art cricket stadium would be a step forward in exploiting talent in the region. Iqbal said that the land for the cricket stadium has been allotted to the PCB for promoting the sport.