PUTRAJAYA, June 26 — The Ministry of Youth and Sports (KBS) has formed a committee to monitor the progress of the construction of the Football Association of Malaysia’s (FAM) National Training Centre (NTC), which commenced in the middle of this month in Precinct 5, here.

Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh said the committee, which includes representatives from the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Economy, will ensure that the project is completed according to the targeted timelines, with Phase 1 scheduled for completion by December 2026 and Phase 2 by December 2027.

"Before 2022, this project could not proceed due to land and funding issues, but with the establishment of this monitoring committee, they will ensure that the project is carried out,” she told a press conference after the FAM NTC groundbreaking ceremony here today.

Previously, the FAM NTC project announced in 2019 was initially scheduled to begin construction in late 2021.

Earlier, FAM president Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin informed that the NTC FAM project, with a total cost of RM69 million, includes two phases with Phase 1 funded by Fifa amounting to US$ 5.2 million (approximately RM24 million), while Phase 2 involves an allocation of RM45 million from the government through KBS.

Phase 1 of the NTC project is being carried out by local company RS Green Master (M) Sdn Bhd, involving the construction of three football pitches with different types of grass; natural (Bermuda), hybrid and synthetic, and is equipped with full floodlighting and quality drainage systems, landscaping and a six-metre-high perimeter fence around the piitches.

Phase 2, to be implemented by the Public Works Department (JKR), is expected to open for tender in September 2024. It includes the construction of a 1,682.8-square-metre building comprising a gymnasium, multipurpose hall, players’ changing rooms, rehabilitation space, and surau, in addition to constructing a roof for the synthetic turf pitch built in Phase 1.

The FAM NTC project will be part of a football hub in Precinct 5, which will also include the headquarters of FAM and also the Asean Football Federation (AFF), and a mini stadium. — Bernama