East Coast Rly Stadium In Bhubaneswar May Open For Commercial Use

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New Delhi: As part of a plan to monetise assets, the East Coast Railway Stadium in Bhubaneswar and 14 other sports facilities in the country owned by Indian Railways may be allowed for commercial use.

The East Coast Railway Stadium is a cricket stadium in the Odisha capital that hosts Ranji Trophy and other matches. The construction of the galleries and renovation of the stadium is under process to make it suitable for international cricket matches.

The Railway Ministry has asked the Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA) to assess the techno-economic feasibility for commercial development of these stadiums and sports complexes.

“These are going to remain sporting facilities. We are assessing if they can be upgraded with more facilities for players and open them up for use by private parties also for commercial use,” RLDA Vice-Chairman VP Dudeja was quoted as saying by The Indian Express.

On the list are sports complexes at production units at Modern Coach Factory, Raebareli; Rail Coach Factory, Kapurthala; Rail Wheel Factory, Yelahanka, Bengaluru; Banaras Locomotive Works (formerly DLW), Varanasi; and Integral Coach Factory, Chennai.

The other facilities on the list belong to respective zonal railways such as the indoor stadium and cricket ground at Parel, Mumbai; a hockey stadium in Ranchi; and the sports complex at Mahalaxmi, Mumbai. The list also includes sports facilities in Gorakhpur, Patna, Lucknow and Secunderabad.

Recently, RLDA carried out a similar feasibility study for Karnail Singh Stadium, adjacent to the New Delhi Railway Station.

While the Railway Ministry will take the final call, multiple models of commercialisation might emerge from the exercise, officials said.

“It is too early to say what kind of model will emerge for commercial development. We will appoint a consultant to carry out the studies and then submit a report first,” Dudeja said.