ISLAMABAD: The county’s sports sector on Friday received a budget of Rs3,472 million during the fiscal year 2022-23 for twelve ongoing and seven new development schemes with Rs400 million being set side for the Narowal Sports City project.

The Narowal Sports City project, which is being built in the constituency of incumbent Federal minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal, did not get the attention of the government of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) which allocated only Rs10 million for it in the last budget. However this time the project has been given Rs400 million.

The project was nearing completion when the tenure of the last PML-N government ended in 2018. Since then the project has remained incomplete, and also faced National Accountability Bureau (NAB) probe.

The total cost of the project is Rs2.9 billion and according to the budgetary documents, Rs2.25 billion have been spent so far on the project.

Pakistan’s sports sector, which is being looked after by the Ministry of Inter-provincial Coordination (IPC), received only Rs1,416 million for seven new development schemes.

According to the budget documents, Rs1,000 million have been earmarked for 250 mini sports complexes, Rs200 million for holding the National Games and Rs5 million for revamping sports facilities in Kashmore.

Similarly, Rs100 million have been set aside for developing facilities for next year’s South Asian Games viz, warm-up track, heat exchanger, residential flats for coaches, revamping of multipurpose halls, fencing hall, 5-A site hockey ground, futsal ground and master planning of the Pakistan Sports Complex (PSC) in Islamabad.

An amount of Rs100 million has been allocated for installing electronic displays and scoring system at different sports venues, Rs10 million for constructing a swimming pool at the PSB Coaching Centre in Karachi while Rs1 million has been set aside for revamping the existing facilities at Quetta’s PSB Coaching Centre.

As regards the ongoing schemes, Rs531 million have been allocated for replacing/laying synthetic hockey turfs in seven cities and Rs465 million for rehabilitating and upgrading existing facilities at the PSC for holding the 2023 South Asian Games.

Similarly, Rs126.292 million were allocated for establishing a bio-mechanical lab at the PSC, Islamabad, Rs100 million for constructing and revamping roads, pavements, main gates, security systems and landscaping the PSC and Rs50 million for purchasing sports gear and hiring foreign coaches to train Pakistan athletes for prominent international events.

Moreover, a fund of Rs125 million have been reserved for laying synthetic athletics track/football ground, sprinkling system and floodlights at the PSB Coaching Centre, Karachi; Rs100 million for organising national training camps at PSC to prepare athletes for international events; Rs100 million for upgrading existing facilities at the PSB Coaching Centre in Karachi; Rs56 million for constructing PSB coaching centre in Skardu (PC-II); Rs1 million for constructing a hostel for players at the PSB Coaching Centre, Karachi and Rs1 million for the construction of a pavilion at Multan’s Qilla Kohna Qasim Bagh Stadium.

Published in Dawn, June 11th, 2022