Dilapidated sports complexes to be rehabilitated in ADP: minister

LAHORE: Punjab Minister for Youth Affairs Faisal Ayub Khokhar said that Punjab Sports Department will spend a hefty amount on the rehabilitation of dilapidated sports complexes in the Annual Development Programme (ADP). “Shehbaz Sharif in his era as Punjab CM built beautiful sports gymnasiums in several cities but now these sports gymnasiums are presenting a deserted look due to negligence of past rulers,” he said this while taking to media at the inauguration of Modern Contact Body Sports Centre at Nishtar Park Sports Complex on Thursday.

Secretary Youth Affairs Punjab Muzaffar Khan Sial, DG Youth affairs and Sports Punjab Pervez Iqbal, Director Sports Yasmeen Akhtar, Project Director PMU Qaiser Raza, Deputy Director Zahoor Ahmed and other officials were also present on this occasion.

Faisal Khokhar said that the Modern Contact Body Sports Centre has been completed with the cost of Rs 72 million in a short span of time. “The games of boxing, judo, karate, wushu and ju-jitsu etc can be organised at Contact Body Sports Center”.

Elaborating more sports projects, he said that Sports Board Punjab is going to build 91 outdoor sports complexes across the province in just one year. “The state-of-the-art squash complex, which has been stalled for two decades, will be completed with a cost of Rs 80 crores in one year,” he added.

Khokhar further said that all the sports projects are being completed within the stipulated period in line with the vision of Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz. Answering a question, Khokhar said that Sports Board Punjab is going to conduct Punjab Games in near future and in this regard the registration process of 16 games will begin soon. “A large number of 10 lakh youth will be engaged in these games”.

DG Sports Punjab Pervez Iqbal on this occasion said that all facilities of Sports Board Punjab are for the public and anyone can organize a sports event at these state-of-the-art sports venues.