PESHAWAR: Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Mahmood Khan Thursday inaugurated the newly constructed international standard Hayatabad Cricket Stadium which can now hold PSL-8 or any of the international cricket matches.
Provincial Minister Finance Taimur Saleem Jhagra, Minister Higher Education Kamran Bangash, Minister Social Welfare Anwar Zeb, Minister Sports and Youth Affairs Atif Khan, Members Provincial Assembly, Secretary Sports Captain (Rtd) Mushtaq Ahmed, Project Director Col. Bakhtiar, Deputy Project Director Col. Akmal, Head NASPAK Saad, Deputy Manager NLC Talha, DG Sports Khalid Khan, Director Youth Irfan Ali, Director Sports Merged Areas Pir Abdullah Shah, PCB Representative for KP Region Babar Khan and Administrator Hayatabad Sports Complex Shah Faisal and other important personalities including players were present.
Hayatabad Cricket Stadium was completed in a period of one year under the supervision of Pakistan Cricket Board and ICC at a cost of Rs. 1 billion. All the facilities of international standard have been provided in the Stadium. PSL-8 and other international matches can be held in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mahmood Khan said while talking to the media during the opening ceremony. International level of sports facilities have been created.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is the only province in which 15 synthetic hockey turfs have been completed for the promotion of national game hockey, along with the construction of squash courts in all districts, synthetic courts for tennis, football grounds, fifteen polo grounds, athletics tracks from Dera Ismail Khan, Bannu, Kohat and work on Peshawar would soon be started. He said for the promotion of women’s game, a separate gymnasium equipped with all international facilities for indoor games for females have been nearing completion as 95 percent construction work has been completed in all divisional headquarters.
The Chief Minister said equal opportunities have been ensured for the female players of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa who also excelled greatly in the field of sports at national and international level. Separate gymnasiums have been completed for sports while 151 sports facilities have been built from North Waziristan to Chitral that also included 15 polo grounds as well to promote traditional and international standard polo.
The Chief Minister said that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa can organize national and international competitions of any game with such international standard facilities.
He said when he was the minister of sports, the grant of sports was Rs. 140 million while the current year’s ADP of sports has increased to Rs. 6.1 billion. He said that this stadium is one of the most beautiful stadiums in Pakistan, which is equipped with all the facilities.
The completion of this stadium will help in the promotion of international cricket in the province. He said that an additional grant has already been approved for Arbab Niaz Cricket and now Rs. 400 million has been provided for the Niaz Cricket Stadium and by June this year Arbab Niaz Cricket Stadium will also be completed.
Before this, Secretary Sports Captain (R) Mushtaq Ahmed briefed Chief Minister Mahmood Khan about the stadium and the construction work. He said the Stadium was completed in record time despite many of the items imported from other countries of the world in order to match it according to the international requirement.
