The Pakistan Cricket Board has "rebooted an abandoned project" to build an int'l standard cricket stadium in the Shakarparian area, according to Shahzad Anwar of the EXPRESS TRIBUNE. The Capital Development Authority and the PCB signed a memorandum of understanding in '12 under which the CDA allotted 35 acres near Shakarparian for the construction of the stadium. The project "was supposed to be completed within a year," with 30% of income from int'l matches and sponsorships to be given to the CDA, while the remaining 70% would go to the PCB. The project fell through "due to the PCB’s financial woes." A source "privy to the development" said that the PCB has now applied for a no-objection certificate from the Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency "to execute the project." In addition to the proposed 50,000 seat stadium, "a cricket academy, a five-star hotel, and other related facilities were part of the project in the forest area." The stadium would be constructed in three years at a cost of Rs 2B ($20M), according to initial estimates. According to an environmental impact assessment report, the project will cause environmental degradation in the form of "loss of 450 to 500 fully grown trees, while vegetation and shrubs on 15 acres" will be affected. Meanwhile, former Pakistan cricket team Manager Saleem Asghar Mian criticized the PCB for even proposing the stadium. He said, "What is the point when you already have Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium a few kilometers away? It is not as if any big teams are going to tour Pakistan in the near future" (EXPRESS TRIBUNE, 3/3).
