BCB plans to start primary works at Sheikh Hasina International Cricket Stadium in August
Image : Collected
|| CF Correspondent ||
Sheikh Hasina International Cricket Stadium (SHICS) project implementation committee, formed by Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) is likely to start the primary phase work of the ‘state-of-the art’ stadium in August after a lengthy corona break.
BCB Grounds Committee and Head of SHICS-Project Implementation Committee (PIC) Chairman Mahbubul Anam came up with the revelation to media after holding an informal online meeting of the PIC though they were slated to meet in person at the board management office of the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium (SBNCS) in Mirpur.
They have talked but the process needs to start for the approval of the board for which they also need to sit for a board meeting, Anam said, said that they may call a board meeting in the first week of August after the BCB President returns home from abroad.
“The construction work of the stadium has not started yet. It got too late. Due to the coronavirus pandemic nothing had done. I think we went six months back,” said Mahbubul Anam.
“Actually we will do the paperwork for the project. We can’t decide much without a board meeting. So we’re now waiting for the board meeting,” Anam told the media.
“When the board president Nazmul Hassan Papon returns to the country after Eid-ul-Azha, we will sit and discuss about the Purbachal Sheikh Hasina Stadium in the board meeting,” he added.
BCB ground committee chairman informed that the outline has not been made for the would-be second largest cricket stadium in terms of capacity, and going to be the most expensive cricket stadium in Asia.
“So far no outline of the original work has been made. As of now, the first thing to do is to hire a consultant. When a consultant is hired, we will then plan and design the stadium together. And then, the question of hiring a contractor will arise,” Mahbub said.
“The most important thing is to make the design and drawing look well. If it is good, then no matter who is working during the construction, the work can be done well,” he added.
He stated that everything will be needed to start from the beginning for which the expected time might be needed to extend to make sure the design and doing the groundbreaking once again.
“Now we have to start from zero. Everything at the SHICS at Purbachal has to be started from the beginning. But our first goal is to ensure the right design. If the design is good, the construction work will also be good as well,” the BCB director said.
“A six-man short-list will be drawn up as the special of interest from the interested bidders for the design and architecture. Out of these six, we will give the job to the one who submits the best design who will have more qualifications. We will ask for a presentation from these consultants of the short list,” he concluded.
Noteworthy, the stadium, a joint venture of National Sports Council (NSC) and Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), is scheduled to be built at the newly-planned Town of Purbachal on the outskirts of Dhaka city.
The BCB meanwhile got the acquisition of about 38 acres (15 ha) of land east of the Turag River beside the Purbachal Express Highway from the government via the National Sports Council.
The initial process work of the state-of-the-art stadium began in November 2019 and was expected to be completed by December 2022 but the work hasn’t progressed up to the mark.
