The Jharkhand State Cricket Association has signed an agreement with Bokaro Steel Plant, a unit of Steel Authority of India Ltd, for transfer of land to construct an international cricket stadium on the outskirts of Bokaro.

The JSCA, which is affiliated to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), plans to construct the stadium in the next four years, in the process becoming the first cricket body in the eastern region to have three cricket stadiums. Jharkhand already has a 45,000-capacity international cricket stadium at Ranchi and the 19,000-capacity Keenan Stadium in Jamshedpur (owned by Tata Steel), which has also hosted one-day internationals.

“The stadium will boast of international standards with a sitting capacity of 25,000. We hope to complete the construction work in three-four years,” said JSCA secretary Sanjay Sahay.

On Friday, the JSCA entered into a lease agreement with SAIL-BSL for transfer of land to construct the stadium at Balidih, around 10km from Bokaro city near National Highway 23 and 5km from Bokaro railway station.

“The agreement entails transfer of 20.17 acres of land by SAIL-BSL to the JSCA at Bokaro on long-term lease initially for 33 years, with the provision for further renewals as per the SAIL board-approved guidelines and other necessary approvals. The said land is located in the erstwhile mouza Narkara to the south of NH 23 and southwest of existing Visthapit College,” said a BSL spokesperson.

The lease agreement was signed in the presence of SAIL-BSL director in-charge Amarendu Prakash, former BCCI secretary and former ICC director Amitabh Choudhary, JSCA president Dr Nafis Akhtar, Sahay and others.

A request for allotment of land for construction of the cricket stadium in Bokaro was received by SAIL-BSL from the JSCA in January 2018. The proposal was put up for approval before the SAIL board and Union steel ministry. After obtaining necessary approvals and clearances, all other formalities prior to signing the lease agreement were completed by both parties.

Prakash termed the signing of the agreement as a proud moment for all. “The proposed international cricket stadium at Bokaro will facilitate grooming of local cricketing talent,” he said.

Choudhary told the media that the proposed stadium at Bokaro will be state-of-the-art in terms of facilities and will have a seating capacity of around 25,000. Further activities for construction of the stadium will now be taken up by the JSCA.

“Construction of the stadium will start tentatively from July and will be completed in a record time of less than four years as it happened in the case of the JSCA International Stadium in Ranchi,” said Choudhary.