KARACHI, May 13: The Sindh government has decided to complete the long-forgotten ‘Indoor National Sports Complex’, which had been abandoned in 1977.
This decision was taken at a meeting held on Tuesday in the office of Sindh Chief Secretary K.B. Rind.
The complex, situated at the junction of M.A. Jinnah Road and Garden Road, according to the decision, will be built on a self-finance/ BOT (build, operate and transfer) basis under the supervision of the Sindh department of culture, tourism, sports and youth affairs. The city government will extend cooperation in the early implementation of the project.
The chief secretary, presiding over the meeting, reviewed the project and formulated a “Sports Complex Implementation Committee” (SCIC) to expedite the work. He stressed the need for stepping up the pace of work.
The plot where the INSC was planned in the mid-70s by the then federal minister for sports and education, Abdul Hafeez Pirzada, is spread over 17,125 square yards across Kandawala Building on M.A. Jinnah Road. The construction of the project was stopped soon after its initiation following the change of government in 1977.
In the subsequent years the matter was not taken up by any of the government due to a tussle over its ownership and it continued to be an eyesore for beholders but also a manifestation of an adverse image of Karachi to investors on the most busy and commercial district of the city.
However, after taking over the reigns of the government by Gen Pervez Musharraf on October 12, 1999, Sindh Governor Muhammedmian Soomro had set up a “Task Force” for Economic Revival of Urban Sindh. The committee handed over the project to the now defunct Karachi Metropolitan Corporation for developing its premises into a car parking facility.
Later on when the devolution of plan was enforced and new local government system implemented, the project was transferred to the city government and after the installation of the elected government the matter was sorted out with the federal government.
Other members of the new SCIC are the Karachi Nazim, the secretary for culture and tourism; the secretary for communication and works and the DCO of Karachi.
SAZDA: By another decision a sub-committee was formed which will make recommendations within 10 days regarding absorption of surplus staff of the defunct Sindh Arid Zone Development Authority in different district governments.
The sub-committee is headed by a senior member of the board of revenue while its members are the secretaries for services, irrigation and power, works and member land utilization.
At the initial stage it was proposed that out of 667 total employees, 332 are likely to be adjusted in various district governments, whereas 37 technical staff allied with machinery could be accommodated in the Thar and Dadu district governments. Similarly, 230 employees in the finance department and finance planning at district level, 55 with various administrative departments, 17 in the planning and development department, leaving only 26 officers as surplus.