BUKIT JALIL, Dec 23 — With roughly seven months to the SEA Games, the Kuala Lumpur Sports City is still under construction but builders, Malaysian Resources Corporation Berhad (MRCB), and overseers, Malaysia Stadium Corporation (MSC), have assured that athletes will have time to test the ground before the Games start on Aug 19.

MRCB general manager S. Nalgunalingam said the Kuala Lumpur Sports City project will be completed in mid-July.

"Our 1,145 workers are toiling seven days a week to try and complete the job by April or May, so athletes will be able to test the venues to gain home ground advantage,” he said.

"We want to deliver a world class national sports complex that will provide both athletes and spectators with gold-standard sporting facilities and experience,” he said at a media briefing yesterday.

He explained overall construction works at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium, Putra Indoor Stadium, National Aquatic Centre, National Hockey Stadium as well as a large scale plaza is on schedule and currently stands 60 per cent complete.

"We will be applying for certification from all the world bodies, including IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federation), Fina for aquatics and the International Hockey Federation (FIH). 

"This could take up to three months depending on the availability of the bodies,” said Nalgunalingam.

MSC chief executive officer Azman Fahmi Osman revealed the National Hockey Stadium is expected to be completed by April.

Azman also disclosed that a launch event for the RM1.6 billion project prior to the Games is also on the cards.

"We will update on the latest developments of the project next year. As for now we are happy to say  everything is on schedule and on track,” he said.

In October, MRCB was chosen, through its subsidiary Rukun Juang Sdn Bhd, by the federal government to undertake the KL Sports City project.

The new sports complex will create a vibrant sports hub accessible to athletes, as well as the local community, recreational users and the general public.