Bhubaneswar, March 20: The administration has drawn up plans to revamp infrastructure at the Kalinga Stadium here as it gears up to host the 2018 Hockey World Cup.

According to the blueprint, the stadium infrastructure will be overhauled to give it a modern and international look with plans to increase its seating capacity from 5,000 to 15,000. They will also develop utilities, including drinking water facilities and washrooms, and changing rooms accordingly.

Chief secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi recently held a high-level meeting with officials of the sports and youth services, general administration department and local administration, including the Bhubaneswar Development Authority and the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation, and asked them to execute the work on time.

They have also decided to widen entry and exit gates and the stadium's internal roads.

"We had a discussion with the stakeholders and decided to take up various measures to properly host the event. We will improve public transport and plan special routes for buses carrying the players," said development authority vice-chairman Krishan Kumar.

There are also plans to host international food festivals and open-air cultural programmes during the event with an aim to promote the state's tourism potential. An initial Rs 89.5 crore has been sanctioned for the project. A special mascot will also be developed for branding the event, along with Odisha Tourism.

Bhubaneswar is the third Indian city after Mumbai and Delhi to host the event in 1982 and 2010, respectively. The event will be held in November 2018 with more than 1,000 players from 16 countries taking part.

Earlier, chief minister Naveen Patnaik had directed the officials to increase city security ahead of the event. The administration will install 850 additional closed-circuit television cameras and 150 pan-tilt-zoom cameras across the city. It has also decided to make the city Wi-Fi enabled before the event.