KOCHI: An internal GCDA report has found that the cost of renovating Kochi’s Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium for the failed Lionel Messi friendly was inflated by nearly Rs 60 crore. The Greater Cochin Development Authority owns the stadium.
The report, accessed by the TNIE, put the preliminary cost of the renovation at Rs 8.44 crore, against the Rs 70 crore that sponsor Reporter Broadcasting Corporation (RBC) claimed to have spent. According to the internal report, a committee headed by the GCDA secretary conducted a preliminary assessment of the stadium renovation, calculating costs based on the market rates of materials and individual works.
The report pegged the cost of boundary wall work at Rs 1.19 crore, parking ground development at Rs 1.66 crore and gallery chair installation at Rs 2.22 crore. Painting, entrance lobby revamp, toilet renovation and electrical work cost Rs 1.36 crore, while nearly Rs 2 crore was spent under other heads. Even if a 10% margin is allowed, the actual cost wouldn’t have touched Rs 10 crore, GCDA sources said.
The report also said 15,000 fixed seats were left untouched during the renovation and needed replacement when the sponsor handed the stadium back to the GCDA.
Contrary to former GCDA chairperson K Chandran Pillai’s claim that the renovation cost the authority nothing, the report, citing records, said the GCDA partially carried out electrical and fencing works and maintained the floodlights, spending over Rs 50 lakh. Pillai was unavailable for comment.
The report said Sports Kerala Foundation (SKF) prescribed the specifications for materials used in the renovation to meet FIFA approval requirements. It also noted that GCDA engineers did not supervise the work at any stage, with SKF officials overseeing it instead.
The stadium was handed over to the RBC through the SKF on September 26, 2025, for renovation. It was initially scheduled to be taken back on October 30, ahead of the proposed November 17 match, which did not materialise.
Investigation will expose irregularities, says MLA
Despite maintenance work remaining incomplete, the GCDA decided to take back the stadium on November 28, allowing RBC to finish the pending work by December 15. The deadline was later extended to January 9, 2026. The sponsor claimed to have spent Rs 70 crore on the renovation.
Although football matches, including an exhibition match between Brazil Legends and India All-Stars, were later held at Kaloor stadium, questions over the actual renovation cost remain.
The GST department has collected records from the GCDA to probe alleged tax evasion in the deal. The state government has also formed a Special Investigation Team to probe the entire deal, including the stadium renovation work.
When contacted, former MLA K J Maxi, who was a GCDA member at the time, said he was unaware of the details of the deal. “I had attended only two or three meetings of the authority,” he said.
Kochi MLA Muhammed Shiyas said the stadium renovation deal appeared suspect and the probe would expose irregularities. “The sponsor’s expenditure claims are suspected to be inflated. There are allegations of money laundering, and the probe will cover all of them,” he told TNIE.
‘GCDA spent Rs 50L’
Contrary to the former GCDA chairperson’s claim that the renovation cost the authority nothing, the report said the GCDA partially carried out electrical and fencing work and maintained floodlights, spending over Rs 50 lakh.