ISLAMABAD: The Capital Development Authority (CDA) and a representative of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Monday, in principle, agreed on the construction of a cricket stadium in Islamabad.

Sources in the CDA said the PCB management committee member Shakil Shaikh visited the CDA headquarters and held a meeting with Chairman Noorul Amin Mengal. The sources said both sides in principle agreed on the construction of the cricket stadium near D-12 in the foothills of Margalls.

The CDA chief told the PCB representative that the civic agency had earmarked 25 acres for the construction of the cricket stadium.

It was decided that soon a memorandum of understanding (MoU) will be prepared which will be signed by both the parties.

25 acres already allocated for project near D-12, says official

An official of the CDA said that PCB will construct the stadium and CDA will provide it land; therefore, both the sides will share its revenue. The official said though in the MoU terms and conditions will be decided, the CDA was mulling to claim 30pc revenue share while the PCB will get 70pc.

When contacted, The chairman CDA said: “It was a preliminary meeting with PCB official on the proposed cricket stadium. Soon, we will hold another meeting with PCB and then an MoU will be signed.”

To a query, the CDA chief said the land was encumbrance-free and located at an ideal place in the foothills of Margallas. He said once constructed, the stadium will add to the beauty of Islamabad.

When asked about the status of the land, the CDA chairman said if the land falls in Zone III, then too there was no bar on construction of sports facilities there. He said as per ICT Zoning Regulations 1992, the CDA could launch recreational facilities, including sports stadiums, in the zone.

Mr Mengal said sports facilities like the ones already constructed near Aabpara such as the sports complex also fall in Zone III.

The CDA and PCB in the past too had started a project for the construction of a stadium in Shakarparian, however, it was scrapped by Supreme Court.

In 1960, a Greek firm, Doxiadis Associates, prepared Islamabad’s master plan and declared 2,250 acres as a sports centre in Shakarparian. The boundary of the area touches Islamabad Highway in the north and Murree Road in the south and east. The government constructed the sports complex, a museum, Lok Virsa, a golf course and Islamabad Club in the area.

However, in 1979, through a notification, the government ended the independent status of the area and included it in the national park and Zone III, meaning no new facilities could be developed there.

The notification had also added many villages, which were outside Margalla Hills, to the national park and Zone III. However, successive governments never tried to make amendments to the 1979 notification that resulted into mushroom growth of unregulated construction in the area.

Published in Dawn, May 23rd, 2023