Football Association of Maldives (FAM) paid more than MVR 32 million to the contractor building a football school in Hulhumalé Phase 1 despite large portions of the project remaining unfinished, according to a special audit by Auditor General Hussain Niyazy.
The project was awarded to a private company on July 18, 2018 for MVR 38 million, with construction scheduled to be completed within 90 days. However, the audit report found that the work was not completed within that timeframe.
Project aspects and contract values:
- Four-storey accommodation building: MVR 20,030,068
- Office building: MVR 6,957,228
- Construction of two football pitches: MVR 1,060,000
- Furniture procurement for the buildings (variation order): MVR 9,952,704
- Total project value: MVR 38 million
According to the audit, only around 90 percent of the accommodation building has been completed. Implementation of the project stalled after 2020.
The contractor informed FAM on February 24, 2022 that work on the office building and football pitches had not begun due to boulders and fencing present at the project site.
Despite the incomplete works, FAM paid MVR 32.3 million to the contractor.
Breakdown of payments:
- Completed works: MVR 18 million
- Additional payments: MVR 14.2 million
- Total paid: MVR 32.3 million
The audit found that MVR 14.2 million was paid for works that had not even started.
A separate report prepared by the then Ministry of Youth and Sports in May 2020 also found that the project had not been implemented appropriately. The ministry noted that FAM had made payments exceeding what was permitted under financial regulations.
The government had allocated MVR 31 million to FAM for the project. A previous audit of the Youth and Sports Ministry by the Auditor General also found irregularities in how those funds were allocated to FAM.
