Lahore/Karachi: The time has come to restore the splendor of stadiums, 90 percent of the work of upgrading Gaddafi Stadium Lahore for the ICC Champions Trophy has been completed, the work of installing chairs in the enclosures has started, a trench has been prepared to prevent spectators from entering the ground, modern lights have been installed on the towers, all the work of upgrading will be completed by the end of January. On the other hand, the infrastructure of a 5-storey building has been prepared in the National Stadium, the work of finishing various floors is still pending, the phase of removing the fence in the ground has begun.
According to the details, Pakistan will host the ICC Champions Trophy in February and March, before that, the renovation of the host venues of Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi is underway.
90 percent of the work of upgrading Gaddafi Stadium Lahore has been completed. Slabs have been placed in the Imran Khan, Fazal Mahmood, Javed Miandad, Kardar, Zaheer Abbas, Sarfaraz Nawaz and Raja enclosures for spectators to sit in. Now the work of installing chairs on them has also started.
According to sources, more than 37,000 floating chairs have been ordered. More green and white chairs will be installed so that the color of the national flag is prominent in the aerial view. Along with this, red, orange and orange chairs will also be installed. After the plaster work on the PCB headquarters office building has been completed, now different frames are being installed on the front as per the map. The glass work is also likely to be completed in the next 15 days.
Along with the completion of construction work in the Players Building, the focus has been on electricity and title work. Two new enclosures are being built in front of the Players Building in the style of the Far End Building so that fans can sit there and enjoy the matches with a better view. Along with the buildings, painting work is also going on in the enclosures. A trench has been prepared to prevent spectators from entering the ground. Now a three-foot barrier fence is being erected in front of it, but this will not hinder the view of the spectators.
Despite the severity of the weather in Lahore, workers are working in three shifts so that all the upgradation work is completed by the end of January.
The ground staff is trying to keep the pitches clean and fresh by adding fertilizer. The work to drain rainwater around the grounds has also been completed to a large extent. The work of installing modern lights on the stadium towers has also begun. A screen frame made of iron has been installed in the ground.
On the other hand, steps are being taken for the partial reconstruction and renovation of the National Stadium. The infrastructure of the 5-storey building has been prepared, but the finishing work on various floors is still pending. The phase of removing the fence in the ground has begun. The ICC Anti-Corruption Unit, Anti-Doping and Match Officials rooms are to be built on the ground floor.
Two dressing rooms will be constructed on the first floor, hospitality boxes will be built on the second and third floors, a media center is to be built on the fourth floor, new digital score screens will be installed in place of the scoreboard removed in the first phase, modern LED lights are also to be installed, board chief Mohsin Naqvi has indicated that construction work is likely to continue in January, and other work will be done later in the second and third phases.
It should be noted that Rs 3.5 billion has been allocated for the renovation of the National Stadium. According to the schedule issued by the ICC, Karachi will host 3 matches in the Champions Trophy.
Due to the ongoing construction work at the National Stadium, the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy final, which was scheduled to start on January 2, has also been shifted to the UBL Ground. The first Test against the West Indies from January 17 to 21 has also been shifted from Karachi to Multan. However, it has been decided to hold the third match of the tri-nation ODI series between Pakistan, New Zealand and South Africa on February 12 and the final scheduled for the 14th at the National Stadium. The aim of this will be to take a final and practical review of the preparations for the Champions Trophy.
