Sandakan airport extension yet to take off

SANDAKAN – There have been two ceremonies by two governments, but the Sandakan airport extension project is far from completion.

Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak was there in 2017 for the first ground-breaking and in January, caretaker Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal did the same.

A third ground-breaking ceremony is perhaps on the cards as Sabahans will have the opportunity to elect a new government on Saturday.

Sandakan residents initially saw hope in the expansion project, as the current slowing economy has hit the district.

Sante Villiamon @ Sanelawa, 47, said residents look to the expansion as a ray of hope to save their struggling businesses. 

“At first we were happy to find out about the project, thinking that this might be the way to save the economy here, but it never got started. 

“Like many restaurant owners here, we did not survive the stagnant economy here and had to close our business.”

The RM80.9 million project aims to lengthen the airport runway – from 2,133m to 2,500m, to allow the landing of big planes, thus making it possible for international flights to fly directly to Sandakan. 

It was estimated to take 18 to 20 months to complete.

“The project (if done) will do great for the economy in Sandakan. It will boost tourism that has been picking up for the past two years. This in turn will have a spillover effect on other businesses,” said Johnny Lim, founder of the Sandakan Tourism Association.

Lim, who is also the BIMP-EAGA Business Council head of tourism for the Sandakan chapter, said he had asked Sandakan MP Vivian Wong Shir Yee about the project, to which she answered that it had started.

However, he said while waiting for the project to be completed, Sandakan needs to be ready for international flights, so the runway extension will have a meaningful impact on tourism here.

“Now, with the extension (project) coming up, I believe we should set up a committee to work on identifying airlines that are operating within a certain radius (of the airport). 

“Since we are so quiet (because of the international travel ban), now is the right time to have a team to do the groundwork.” 

A tourism operator in Sandakan and Kinabatangan, Alexander Yee agreed.

“We should improve basic infrastructure such as road conditions, undisrupted water and electricity supply, and good internet connectivity. By the time the extension is done, we can fly”.

Yee said as far as he knew, the project had only gone as far as appointing a contractor and conducting an EIA (environmental impact assessment).

Sandakan’s economy took a tumble when its tourism industry hit rock bottom after the Lahad Datu incursion in 2013, followed by the Ocean King Seafood Restaurant kidnapping incident in 2015. – The Vibes, September 25, 2020