Perak Stadium Should Be Ready For Use Either In October Or November - Exco

IPOH, Sept 1 (Bernama) -- The Perak Stadium, which is undergoing upgrading works, is expected to be ready to host competitive football matches either in October or November, although the final decision is subject to technical confirmation by the relevant authorities.

State Housing and Local Government Committee chairman Sandrea Ng said that the project had reached about 95 per cent completion, with major physical works - the underground drainage system, perimeter drains, installation of an automatic sprinkler system and grass planting - having been carried out.

She said the Axonopus Putra grass, which was fully planted on July 1, is now in the growth and maturation phase, with the density level reaching around 90 to 92 per cent.

"Work is now focused more on agronomic care and field finishing such as grass cutting, fertilising, moisture and weed control, patching areas that are less dense, as well as rolling, hollow tining and topdressing to ensure the field surface remains even,” she told Bernama today.

On March 2, Sandrea said the stadium would be ready for use this month as upgrading works, including replacing its existing cowgrass with Axonopus Putra, were scheduled to be fully completed in June.

She, however, said the delay was due to the need to upgrade the sprinkler system after technical inspections found that the original design, which used 13 nozzles, did not provide sufficient sprinkler coverage.

"After a joint inspection with Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), the system was improved to 24 nozzles, involving a combination of 360-degree sprinklers in the centre and 180 degrees on the perimeter so that water can be distributed more evenly without wetting the running track.

"This admittedly took some time, but it was crucial to ensuring the field's drainage system functions well in the long term,” she said.

Apart from that, Sandrea said work to raise the pitch level using river sand also experienced supply disruptions following the increase in diesel prices, which affected the operations of sand suction machines as well as the production and delivery of sand by suppliers.

She said 30 additional lorries were used to transport sand to achieve the required level and thickness, thus ensuring the pitch surface was at the appropriate level before the grass planting work was carried out.

In a related development, she said the total cost of the stadium pitch upgrading project amounted to RM1,255.740, comprising RM500,000 from the Ministry of Youth and Sports (KBS) and RM755,740 from the Ipoh City Council (MBI).

-- BERNAMA