KARACHI: The sounds of hammering hammers, iron-grinding machines, and screaming engines predominate at the famous National Bank Stadium before the roars of crowds fill the stadium.
In preparation for the forthcoming ICC Champions Trophy, it is undergoing renovations. Additionally, the list of planned changes is lengthy, considering that the renovations began as late as October of last year.
It features a brand-new, four-story hospitality area for officials and players at the University End. The towering light poles will have 350 LED lights placed to enhance broadcast coverage. In order to improve spectator comfort, 5,000 additional chairs will be installed, along with two digital screens on either side of the field.
On Monday, the new hospitality enclosure was nearing completion. However, it raises doubts about whether the PCB would deliver the stadium to the ICC as agreed upon on January 31 when you observe merely new frames erected on the light poles with the bulbs still not attached. Additionally, the foundations for its tall columns were still being prepared, and the installation of the two enormous screens had only begun.
The staff who have been given the task are smiling with optimism, despite the fact that it appears completely impossible to imagine the renovation work being finished by the deadline.
Dawn was informed by Bilal Chauhan, the PCB’s project director, that “everything is under control and the stadium will be ready by the 31st.”
Bilal was brought on board by PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi for the National Stadium project last year. The two had collaborated on many projects together while Naqvi was Punjab’s acting chief minister.
“Our first thought was that we couldn’t finish the task in the allotted time when the chairman shared his ambition with us,” Bilal remarked. “However, his complete support gave us hope that we could succeed.”
Currently, Bilal employs about 600 workers during the day, with almost half of them working through the night. Since the renovations began, Bilal asserted, none of these workers have paid a visit to his house.
“It has been the same for me,” the Lahore-born project manager stated. “I arrive at this location at eight in the morning and go at two in the evening. “I have no personal life, as you can imagine.”
Bilal went on to illustrate the variety of difficulties that a project of this magnitude could provide, while also mentioning last-minute procedural problems that arise and cause delays in activities.
The new building’s panels were supposed to be placed the next morning after being released from the Karachi Port only late Sunday evening.
He grumbled, “It’s sad to see people bashing us sometimes, but these are the kinds of things we are dealing with.”
Although it is admirable that the majority of the “civil work,” as Bilal described it, has been finished, the work that is still unfinished is undoubtedly concerning.
For Mohsin and the PCB, there is no turning back now.
Taking on such a massive undertaking would either make the board a hero or a zero. As of right now, it is only to be hoped that the National Bank Stadium will appear and perform as “state of the art” as promised and provide both players and fans with the elite experience of participating in the ICC Champions Trophy, which begins on February 19.
The Champions Trophy days before the opener will be practiced by a league game of the tri-nation series, which will feature Pakistan, South Africa, and New Zealand, on February 12 and its final two days later.
