KUANTAN – The National Physical Planning Council has agreed with the Pahang government’s plan to build a new international airport in Gebeng here.
Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail said it was decided in a meeting on Thursday and the state government was asked to conduct an in-depth study on the project, which will be part of Pahang’s plan to develop an aerospace city in Gebeng by 2050.
“There is a need to build a new airport because there is still no international airport in the east coast, and this can provide better transport facilities, and can revive the economy and the tourism sector.
“We are also taking into account the fact that we cannot expand the existing airport (Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah Airport) because it belongs to the Royal Malaysian Air Force, which may involve security factors," he said.
Wan Rosdy told a press conference after attending the post-12th Malaysia Plan (12MP) Management Engagement Session with Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Economy) Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed here today.
On the 12MP, Wan Rosdy said the state government has submitted 731 projects through various ministries with a total cost of RM50.571 billion, and 13 of them have been placed in the priority list.
These include the construction of a new 107km road from Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) in Sepang, Selangor, to Bera and Temerloh, a community college in Lipis and the Cameron Highlands bypass in Pahang.
Based on the Pahang 12MP implementation plan, there are seven road construction projects, including two in Cameron Highlands; namely Habu-Tringkap Bypass (10.7km) and Blue Valley-Kuala Terla Bypass (11km), and the construction of a new 34.2km road from Karak to Simpang Pelangai in Bentong.
On 11MP, Wan Rosdy said the federal government allocated RM10.45 billion to implement 576 projects and of that amount, the state government has spent RM10.04 billion or 96.02%. – Bernama, October 24, 2021
