The government has allocated Rs. 3.33 billion to Inter-Provincial Coordination Division for several sports projects across the country in the proposed FY2022-23 budget
The majority of the ongoing projects were approved by the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf (PTI) government with a total cost of Rs. 8.8 billion out of which Rs. 3.1 billion were estimated to be spent until June 2022 while the rest Rs. 5.7 billion were carried forward from the previous fiscal budget.
The current government has allocated Rs. 2.05 billion for the ongoing projects which include major projects such as rehabilitation and up-gradation of existing facilities at Pakistan Sports Complex, Islamabad for preparation of South Asian Games 2021/22, and rehabilitation and up-gradation of existing facilities at PSB coaching center at Karachi among several others.
Rs. 531 million has been proposed for the replacement of synthetic hockey turfs in seven cities, which include Islamabad, Faisalabad, Wah Cantt, Peshawar, Quetta, Muzaffarabad, and Swat. The project was initially allocated Rs. 817 million under the previous regime out of which Rs. 285 million were spent on the project.
Overall, Rs. 5.7 billion out of the previously allocated budget was still required for the ongoing projects to be completed.
Out of the 15 ongoing projects, 2 were started by the PML-N government in 2017, 12 by the PTI government, and a single project has been started by the current government after taking over the reins in April.
Here is the breakdown of the 15 ongoing projects:
The current government has also approved 13 new sports projects for the Inter-Provincial Coordination Division. Rs. 1.27 billion has been allocated to the new projects which is a significant decrease from Rs. 15.3 billion approved for these projects under the previous budgets.
Several of the new projects have seen a considerable drop in budget allocation. New projects such as the construction of multipurpose sports complexes across various districts in the country and the construction of a new football stadium in Badin have been almost scrapped after being allocated a minimal budget.
Out of the 13 new sports projects, 10 were proposed under the PTI government while the budgets of 3 new projects under the current government are still under consideration. Provisionally, Rs. 250 million has been allocated to organize National Games while Rs. 1 billion has been allocated for the construction of 250 mini-sports complexes.
