By Sa’adi Thawfeeq
Work on one of the world’s most picturesque cricket grounds the Galle International Stadium is going ahead as scheduled to host the third Test between Sri Lanka and England starting on December 18.
There was much consternation among cricket fans especially from England when Galle which was originally scheduled to host the first Test of the three-match series was changed to the third Test.
There was fear that Galle may not host a Test match at all because of the delays the stadium underwent during its rebuilding process following the aftermath of the 2004 tsunami which entirely destroyed it.
However with the construction part of the pavilion, dressing rooms, media centre, VIP enclosures etc being handed to Sierra Construction Ltd., a leading construction company in the country last week, work on the stadium has increased at a hectic pace.
“It is a very challenging task but I am confident we can complete it by the deadline of November 15 set by Sri Lanka Cricket. We did Dambulla Stadium in 155 days,” said Priyantha Perera, a director of the construction company.
“We have been given only about three and a half months to complete construction. It all depends on the weather conditions we will experience in that time. We are working round the clock to deliver on time,” he said.
Galle Stadium curator Jayananda Warnaweera was more definite in his assumption. “We will definitely host the Test match,” he said.
“The centre wicket is ready to stage a match even now. Grass has been planted on the outfield. All that needs to be complete is the pavilion, dressing rooms and media centre which will be able to accommodate 150 journalists,” said Warnaweera.
Sri Lanka Cricket secretary K. Mathivanan outlining the delays they experienced in getting work started on the stadium said: “Our original intention was to put up a five-storey building. But we ran into trouble with the Archaeological Department and the Urban Development Authority who objected to it because there is a rule that does not allow construction of buildings higher than two storeys in front of the Galle Fort which is on the UNESCO list of world monuments.”
“We eventually settled for two storeys but we expanded horizontally demolishing the Galle Cricket Club and Municipality buildings so that we had 38,000 square feet of space. Even then the UDA did not approve it. We had to finally seek the help of the President. All these delays pushed back the construction to the stadium,” said Mathivanan.
He said subsequently tenders were called and construction was awarded to Sierra. The total cost to Sri Lanka Cricket is expected to be around Rs. 400 million.
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