Five Years On: Regi Sports Complex Mega Project Still Awaits Groundbreaking -

Musarrat Ullah Jan

PESHAWAR: Five years after the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government announced plans to transform the Regi Sports Complex into a modern sports facility, the proposed projects, including a football stadium and swimming pool, have yet to move into construction.
In 2021, then Sports Secretary Abid Majeed announced that the detailed designs and 3D models for the proposed football stadium and swimming pool had been completed. He also stated that 3D models, animations and cost estimates for other facilities were being prepared for approval and funding.
The announcement indicated that once the projects were approved and funds allocated, construction and development of modern sports facilities at Regi Sports Complex would follow.
Five years later, however, the football stadium has not been built, the swimming pool remains unconstructed, and there is no clear evidence of major progress on the other facilities announced at the time.
The prolonged delay raises a basic question: if the designs, 3D models and cost estimates were already being prepared in 2021, why has construction still not begun?
The issue also raises questions about whether the projects were formally approved, whether funds were ever released, and if so, where the allocated funds were utilized.
Sports stakeholders say that announcements of major sports infrastructure projects should be followed by clear timelines, funding details and measurable progress. Keeping projects at the announcement or design stage for years leaves athletes without the facilities they were promised.
Despite the passage of five years, the relevant authorities have not publicly provided a detailed update explaining the current status of the projects, their approved cost, funding position, revised timelines or the reasons behind the delay.
For athletes and sports communities in Peshawar, the question is no longer simply when the Regi Sports Complex will be upgraded, but what happened to the project that was already presented as being ready for approval and funding in 2021?