KUALA LUMPUR – Nadi Cergas Development Sdn Bhd has pledged to take good care of the environment surrounding the abandoned Asean Football Federation (AFF) headquarters in Putrajaya.
The response from the construction group, responsible for developing the project, came after a social media post went viral – showing the abandoned building in a poor state, surrounded by bushes and rubbish since its completion in 2021.
The five-storey building was proposed by the late Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah, a former AFF president (2011-2019), to provide the federation with its own facility.
The groundbreaking ceremony took place in 2015, conducted by Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah, the current sultan of Pahang and son of the late sultan.
The project, believed to have cost RM15 million, was designed with a gross floor area of approximately 26,000sqft.
The higher management of Nadi Cergas Development Sdn Bhd told Scoop that they hope AFF will take possession of the building and commence their operations since the building has been ready for occupancy for almost three years.
“We are aware of the viral social media post, and we agree that the surroundings of the building are in bad condition, with bushes and rubbish.
“Hence, we can assure you our management will take the necessary steps to clear the mess around the premises and ensure everything is completed by this week.
“However, we also hope that AFF will come and collect the property and give us a proper date for the handover.
“To be fair, how long can someone expect a developer to hold a building that has been ready for the past three years? Of course, the surroundings of the building will look bad if it is unused.
“At the same time, our company used RM15 million of our own money to complete this project out of respect for the late Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah’s ambitions for AFF.
“We at Nadi Cergas Development would definitely love to see the AFF running its operations in Malaysia. Hence, we hope to get a response from the AFF in the months to come,” the developers said when contacted.
Established in 1995, Nadi Cergas Development Sdn Bhd was formed by an experienced team of industry veterans and is primarily involved in four business segments – building construction, provision of facilities management services, operation of district cooling systems for the supply of chilled water and electricity distribution, and property development.
Its recently completed projects include the newly opened mosque at the Merdeka 118 Tower in Kuala Lumpur and the Cardiology Centre at Serdang Hospital.
Previously, Scoop reported that the AFF confirmed it will relocate to its new administrative office in Putrajaya within the next few months.
The headquarters, which will serve as the AFF’s permanent home, includes lecture and seminar rooms as well as office suites.
The building, which fronts the Higher Education Ministry, is situated near the Putrajaya International Convention Centre and the five-star Pullman Lakeside Hotel.
AFF once had a headquarters located on a landed property in Petaling Jaya, which is now being rented out to a public relations company.
AFF is an organisation within the Asian Football Confederation and is an international governing body of association football, futsal, and beach soccer in Southeast Asia.
It comprises Brunei, Cambodia, East Timor, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Among the most prominent football competitions hosted by the football body is the Asean Mitsubishi Electric Cup which is held every two years. – May 19, 2024