Rajasthan Cricket Association-HZL sign MoU to build International Cricket Stadium in Jaipur

The Rajasthan Cricket Association and Vedanta's Hindustan Zinc Limited (HZL) have signed an MoU to build a new International Cricket Stadium in the village of Chonp in Jaipur. It will be the second-largest cricket stadium in India and the third-largest in the entire world. HZL will spend INR 300 crore to build the arena. Notably, the stadium would be named Anil Agarwal International Cricket Stadium, Jaipur.

Almost 75,000 people may be accommodated at the proposed stadium, which would be 100 acres in size. It would be the largest stadium in the world in terms of the size of the playing field area. Apparently, this stadium cannot hold as many people as Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium (132,000) or Melbourne Cricket Ground (1,00,024).

Upon the signing of the accord, Chief Patron and Speaker of the Rajasthan Assembly, CP Joshi, expressed his happiness. He also offered his thanks to Priya Agarwal Hebbar and Anil Agarwal, the chairman of HZL and non-executive director of Vedanta Ltd, for their generous offer.

"The MoU would help accomplish the dream of construction of a modern international cricket stadium in the city. I thank Anil Agarwal and Priya Agarwal Hebbar (HZL chairperson and Vedanta Ltd non-executive director) for their support for the first phase work. I hope the next phase of the stadium will also be supported by Vedanta," Joshi said.

I am grateful to the state government for their help: Gehlot

Rajasthan Cricket Association president Vaibhav Gehlot also thanked the Vedanta group. He also expressed his gratitude towards the Government of Rajasthan for granting 100 acres for the construction of the stadium.

"I thank the Vedanta group and hope to receive similar support for the second phase. Also, I am grateful to the state government for their help and allotment of 100 acres of land for the stadium at concessional rates,” Gehlot said. 

The proposed stadium's construction will happen in stages. By October 2023, 40,000 capacity is expected to be finished. The first phase of the project will cost a total of Rs 400 crore, of which Rs 300 crore will be covered by HZL and the remainder Rs 100 crore by RCA. The stadium's second phase, with a 35000 capacity, will be funded by HZL. The stadium will host national and international matches, as well as the Indian Premier League (IPL) games.