The proposed Jaffna International Cricket Stadium project is being scaled back after Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) concluded that the original plan is beyond its current financial capacity.
Speaking at a media briefing on Thursday, SLC Honorary Secretary Prakash Schaffter said the project is under review, with the board reassessing its scope in line with available funding.
“The project at the moment is underway. We have to review the final scope of the project that we want to have because our review of the originally approved project is that it is beyond the scope of Sri Lanka Cricket and we do not have the current financial strength to complete it,” Schaffter said.
He stressed that SLC remains committed to developing cricket infrastructure in Jaffna, but said the scale of the project would be significantly reduced.
“We are committed to having a cricket ground in Jaffna, but we are reviewing the extent to which we want to invest in the Jaffna project in the light of our current funding capacities,” he said.
Schaffter added that the board does not currently have the financial resources to build a new international cricket stadium.
“I do not think we have the funds at this point in time to invest in an international cricket stadium in Jaffna,” he said.
He explained that while most regulatory approvals have already been obtained, the revised project is expected to focus on developing a cricket ground rather than the originally proposed international stadium, sports city and housing project.
“The original project consisted of an international stadium, a sports city and a housing project, which we feel we cannot consider at this stage purely because of the magnitude and the reality of the available funding that we have at SLC,” Schaffter said. (Newswire)