It has taken 11 months to complete 35pc of construction work on a long promised hockey stadium in Rawalpindi, when it is supposed to be ready by the middle of May.

The site on which the stadium is being built, next to the Muslim School on Saidpur Road, is where young hockey players from various clubs across the city would gather to train and practice.

It was the only space in the city which could cater to their needs.

For a couple of years now since construction began, young hockey players are finding it hard to practice since they do not have a suitable space to do so.

After it is completed, the Shahnaz Sheikh Hockey Stadium will be the first state of the art sports facility in the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi.

The stadium is named after Olympian Shahnaz Sheikh, who will be opening a hockey academy at the stadium after its completion.

Initially, a project for just the uplifting of the site was launched by MNA Hamza Sharif in 2012 at a cost of Rs20 million.

When he was inaugurating the project for the uplift work, MNA Sharif announced that a stadium will be built on the site and that an Astroturf ground will also be laid on the ground for various sports.

Approving the construction of a stadium then took two years and in 2014, the Punjab government approved Rs140 million for the project, of which Rs70 million would be used for construction and the other half would be spent on laying an Astroturf glass surface, which was to be used in order to make the stadium meet international standards.

Construction on the stadium was started in May last year and according to project director Naeem Ahmed Mir, work on the stadium is expected to be completed by May 16 this year.

He said as of today only 35pc of the work has been completed.

It is difficult to imagine how this deadline will be met, because less than half the work has been completed and the pace of construction has been slow.

“According to our reports, which are based on the payments made, in the 11 months since work on the project started, only 35pc of construction has been completed,” said Mohammad Alyas, a consultant hired for the project by the Punjab government.

“It will be difficult to meet the deadline, but we are trying to pick up the pace of work”, said a project director.

He said that the Rs70 million set aside for the construction of the stadium include the building of a pavilion, ground work, dressing rooms, media rooms and many other facilities. The Astroturf glass will be laid after all other work is completed, he said.

Due to the rains from August through to December last year, work on the project had been delayed, said Mohammad Farhan, who is the contractor or the project.

When asked how the stadium will be completed in a month when it took 11 months to complete 35pc of the construction, he said that he was told to complete the project by November 2016.

“We are aiming to complete the project at its earliest,” he said.

According to the PC-1 for the project, locally made floodlight poles are to be installed in the stadium, which are not available in the market, the contractor said.

“I will have to import the poles from Iran or China, which will take some time,” he added.

Talking to Dawn, Olympian Shahnaz Sheikh said that the pace of work is frustrating hockey players.

“The stadium should be completed without further delays,” he said.

“We were first told that the project will be complete by May. The contractor is now saying that work will end by November. However, when you go and look at the site it seems like the stadium will not be ready till next year,” said Malik Mahtab, a local hockey player.

“We used to play at the Army Hockey Stadium, which also had Astroturf glass. But civilians are no longer able to play there because of security reasons,” he added.

Once completed, the stadium will help in training many young players who are talented but do not have anywhere to practice, said another local player, Wajahat Munir.

Many hockey players whom Dawn spoke to commended the Punjab government for approving the project and said it should be completed on time so that hockey players can continue to play.

However, if all goes according to plan, the new stadium will be a state of the art facility where international matches can also be held, said Shahnaz Sheikh.

“This ground will be a gift to the youth of Rawalpindi,” he said.

Published in Dawn, May 8th, 2016