Kuala Lumpur: Badminton Association of Malaysia’s (BAM) deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamad Norza Zakaria told Malaysian media on Monday that the National Badminton Academy stadium being built in Bukit Kiara has suffered further delays.
Zakaria told reporters the arena was scheduled to be completed by December 2016, but alleged that the construction completion date may slipped even further.
“I urged authorities such as Jabatan Kerja Raya and the Youth and Sports Ministry (KBS) to look into this matter seriously. About 30% to 34% of the academy still under construction, the December completion date is seriously in doubt,” said Zakaria.
Current training facility for Malaysian badminton national team, the Stadium Juara Bukit Juara Sports Complex will be undergoing renovation and upgrading works in October in preparation for the Netball event for next year’s SEA Games.
Zakaria was hoping the contractor Purata Abadi Sdn Bhd could at least finished up the 18-courts training center so that it won’t have significant negative impact on the national badminton team.
“We may eventually have to come up with alternative plan B or plan C,” added Zakaria.
The badminton academy was part of the RM50 million allocated during the 2013 Malaysia budget, and was intended to prepare athletes for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Ironically, the Rio Olympics is less than 2 months away, and the construction of the badminton academy remained in limbo.
