KARACHI: A revamped design of Karachi's National Stadium has been unveiled, Geo News reported on Thursday.
As per plan, the first phase of the construction will be completed for the 2025 Champions Trophy while the second phase will be completed later which would be final.
The newly approved map of the stadium indicates that a new building is being constructed in front of the main structure. This new building will house VIP boxes, a gallery, media boxes, and boxes for players' families. The dressing rooms might also be relocated to this new building.
The second phase will see roof all across the venue.
The construction work at the National Stadium is still ongoing. The old scoreboard building has been demolished, as well as the Iqbal Qasim and Naseem-ul-Ghani enclosures.
During the Pakistan and Bangladesh Test match, no construction work will be carried out during match timings.
Construction will be completed outside of match timings, either during off-hours or at night. The second Test between Pakistan and Bangladesh is scheduled to start on August 30th, and it has been decided to hold the match without spectators.
Remember, Chairman Mohsin Naqvi has given his nod for the upgrade of Lahore, Karachi, and Rawalpindi stadiums.
The PCB chief's nod came during his visit to BDP Pattern's London head office, a renowned architectural company based in the United Kingdom, where he met Chairman Chris Harding and other senior officials.
he PCB has allocated Rs12.80 billion for the upgradation of the three venues which will be renovated ahead of the marquee event which has been proposed to be held from February 19 to March 9 next year.
Meanwhile, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has approved a budget of around $70 million for the tournament with the amount set to cover the expenses incurred during the support period which has been scheduled from February 12 to 18.
The support period window has been designated for warm-up matches, media activities, and promotional events. All activities during the support period will be determined in consultation between the ICC and PCB.
The ICC will decide on the warm-up matches in consultation with all teams. Upon approval, each team will be able to play a maximum of two warm-up matches, which will also be held in three cities — Lahore, Karachi, and Rawalpindi.
During his visit to the BDP's office, PCB Chairman Naqvi was given a detailed briefing about the stadiums' upgradation project.
Expressing satisfaction with the venues' designs, the board's head said that it was the first time that the arenas were being upgraded to cater for such a large number of cricket fans.
Highlighting that he was personally supervising this mega project, Naqvi reaffirmed the commitment to complete the challenging task of the stadium's renovation before the Champions Trophy
It must be noted that the UK-based architectural company, founded 63 years ago, has designed around 200 stadiums on international standards in various countries leading it to secure more than 1,000 design quality awards.
Atique ur Rehman Atique ur Rehman is a senior reporter for Geo News.
