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Bogor officials say they are being kept in the dark about the status of a local sports center development, despite Rp 1.2 trillion ($140 million) in national funds being allocated to the project.

The venture has come to national attention recently, with graft fugitive Muhammad Nazaruddin claiming Democratic Party officials received bribes of at least Rp 100 billion through the project. In a Metro TV interview on Wednesday, Nazaruddin repeated the claim.

Dadang Irfan, head of Bogor’s sports and youth affairs office, said details of the funding had not been provided by the Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs. “We so far haven’t been informed about the continuity of the sports center project.”

The local government was informed about the project by Wafid Muharram, the then-secretary of the ministry who is being tried for allegedly taking a bribe from a contractor involved in a construction project in South Sumatra.

“Wafid came to the district head to brief him on the plan for the construction of a sports facility on 32 hectares of land,” Dadang said.

Misbahudin, an official with Hambalang village administration, said there was no written notice about the project.

“We never received an official letter about the project, or the construction permit. We were only notified orally,” Misbahudin said.

The project to build a football field and jogging track started in 2006 but was halted before completion.

“The project resumed only five months ago, but the football field has been flattened again and is being used as a workers’ shelter,” Misbahudin said.

When the Jakarta Globe inspected the area, there were some signs of work and at least five excavators and a crane on site.

Despite national attention, Hambalang village secretary Didi Hamjah said he was not aware of the graft scandal.

Nazaruddin claimed the Hambalang sports facility was funded by the state budget in 2010 and construction company Adhi Karya was awarded the project by Democratic officials who took at least Rp 100 billion in kickbacks.

The project has also sparked local controversy. Several villagers claimed the government had not paid them for the use of their land in the project. “My land, measuring 800 square meters, was taken for the construction project, but I never agreed to sell it. Some residents received payment but I haven’t,” Goni, a villager, said.