Amin Construction commissioned to upgrade sports grounds

The government has signed an agreement with Amin Construction for the MVR 71.5 million project to upgrade the venues for the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Challenge Cup, Galolhu Stadium and Addu Zone Stadium.

The agreement was signed by Youth Minister Maleeh Jamal on behalf of the government, and Managing Director of Amin Construction Abdulla Mohamed.

Speaking at the agreement signing ceremony, Maleeh Jamal said that about MVR 80 million is required to hold AFC Challenge Cup in the Maldives, but in the 2013 State Budget, only MVR 20 million was assigned for this purpose.

He said that the matter was discussed with the Parliamentary Committee on Public Accounts via Ministry of Finance, and it was decided to assign MVR 50 million in the 2014 State Budget to AFC Challenge Cup, and to assign the remaining amount in 2015.

“MVR 30 million out of the MVR 50 million included in this year’s budget will be spent on upgrading stadiums. This is a very important decision. It is a great wish of Maldivian youth to hold international games at Addu Zone Stadium. Some of the biggest contractors in the country expressed interest to carry out this project,” he said.

He said that Maldives will face serious challenges if it is not able to host the AFC Challenge Cup, which could include being suspended for two years.

MD of Amin Construction Abdulla Mohamed said that the company decided to undertake this project not with the intention of making high profits, but as a service to the nation.

“We hope to complete the project before the start of the tournament. That’s our aim. We have previously completed similar, big projects on time, such as the Convention Centre for the SAARC Summit. We’ve even given a discount of about MVR 5 million on the ministry’s request,” he said.

Also speaking at the ceremony, President of Football Association of Maldives (FAM) Ilham Ahmed said that he was confident that the Maldives can host this tournament, and that senior officials of FIFA including President Sepp Blatter will visit the Maldives for this event.

Meanwhile last Wednesday, FAM was warned by AFC that unless the stadium upgrade work began within five days, Maldives may lose the opportunity to host this tournament.