An offer of 25 acres near D-12 has been made by the Capital Development Authority (CDA) to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for the purpose of building a cricket stadium in Islamabad. The PCB was approached by the CDA with this proposal.
“I spoke with PCB officials a few days ago and informed them that CDA has set aside 25 acres for the project.” “CDA and PCB will hold a meeting on it next week,” CDA Chairman Noorul Amin Mengal told Dawn on Sunday. He stated that the CDA has 150 acres near D-12 and Shah Allah Ditta that will be used to promote sports.
“Out of the total, 25 acres will be given to the PCB for the cricket stadium, and we will develop other sports facilities on the remaining land,” he said, adding that the cricket stadium in the Margallas foothills will add to Islamabad’s attractiveness. International cricket matches will also be held at the facility.
In 2018, the construction of a stadium project in Shakarparian was canceled by the Supreme Court. The CDA chairman responded to concerns about possible environmental protests due to the location being in Zone III by stating that he had been informed that the area was outside of Zone III.
However, even if it is in Zone III, he stated that the civic agency could use it for sports facilities, citing the sports complex near Aabpara which is also classified as Zone III.
“There is no reason why Zone III cannot have sports and recreational facilities, and we even have hiking trails in the Margalla Hills.” But I’ll look into it again,” he said.
