Guwahati, Dec. 7: Sarusajai, the sleepy little neighbourhood on the outskirts of the Assam capital, is set for a major facelift as construction activities for the 2005 National Games multi-sport complex begins tomorrow.

Suresh Kalmadi, president of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), Assam governor Ajai Singh and chief minister Tarun Gogoi will lay foundation stones of three proposed facilities — the athletics stadium, the indoor hall and the aquatics centre at 12.45 pm.

The projects at Sarusajai — finalised after many deliberations — would change the landscape of the area and turn it into the main hub of sports activities in the state. The National Games have come to the state for the first time and it would only be the second Games in the Northeast after Manipur hosted it in 1989.

Spread over 369 bighas of land after the district administration handed over an additional 12 bighas recently to the National Games secretariat, the complex will come up at an estimated to cost Rs 55.10 crore.

Kalmadi will fly from Mumbai to attend the ceremony, which was postponed several times because the IOA chief was preoccupied with other engagements, including political ones like the recent Assembly election. The IOA chief will return to Mumbai after the ceremony — scheduled to be held under the banner of the Games secretariat.

“The directorate of sports, the district administration, the city police, the PWD department and Assam Olympic Association are helping the Games secretariat for the smooth conduct of the ceremony. Apart from the three huge facilities, a warm-up track will also come up in Sarusajai,” a senior sports department official said.

The state director of sports, Dhrubajyoti Hazarika, allayed fears that the anti-Bihari unrest in the state might hamper construction of the facilities.

“Everything is under schedule and construction will begin from December 15. According to our consultants, more than 50 per cent work would be completed through machines. Everybody is chipping in with their contributions, giving us enough reasons to remain optimistic and look forward to a successful hosting of the Games,” Hazarika said.

The city won the bid to host the Games on December 13, 2002, though its sports infrastructure was not adequate enough to accommodate the nation’s premier multi-sport event. The state was left with just two years to build the required infrastructure because of the delay in finalising the sites, formation of various committees and processing of tender papers.

Construction in the true sense of the term would now kick off in January next year because of the unwarranted hiccups.

The total construction cost of the facilities is estimated at Rs 103 crore. This includes the projects in Sarusajai, the velodrome in Tepesia, completion of various pending projects and renovation of the existing infrastructure like the Nehru Stadium, the Rajiv Gandhi Sports Complex in Amingaon, the Ganesh Mandir stadium, the Kanaklata and Abita indoor stadiums and several other grounds.