KARACHI, March 22: The city government has failed to open Karachi’s only women sports complex even seven months after its completion. The construction work of the women sports complex was completed by the former city government at a cost of Rs54.9 million in August 2005. Work on the project started in June 1996.

A city government official told Online on Wednesday that the sports complex could not be opened for the city’s sportswomen due to non-approval of fee structure and appointment of coaches and administrative staff by the city council and the Sindh government respectively.

The complex, completed by the works and services department seven months ago, has a multi-purpose gymnasium hall where seven indoor games including basketball, table tennis, badminton, volleyball, squash, tae kwon do, and swimming can be played simultaneously.

It also has two swimming pools - one each for women and children - and two jogging tracks - indoor and outdoor.

Currently, yoga and aerobic classes are being held in a building adjacent to the newly-established women sports complex which was donated by the defunct District Municipal Corporation (East) in 1996 for women sports.   City government sources said the community development department planned to appoint coaches and trainers on contract basis to train women and young girls in different sports fields.

The department had also revised the fee structure and lifetime membership programme, sources said. It has proposed Rs10,000 as lifetime membership and Rs1,000 per game as monthly fees.

For the appointment of coaches, administrative and security staff on contract basis, the city government had sent a summary to the Sindh government for approval of the sum of new expenditure five months back. However, no action has so far been taken, sources maintained.

Sources said the community development department had failed to present the proposed fees structure in the city council for the final approval.—Online