KOTA KINABALU – The appointment of Berjaya Land Bhd to relocate the state’s international airport was based on the confidence that the company possesses relevant experience in such work, said Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Mohd Noor today.
Assuming that Berjaya Land does not have experience with airports, Hajiji said, he believes that the appointed company will engage relevant consultants on the said matter.
As for the appointment of Qhazanah Sabah Bhd in the same endeavour, Hajiji said the company may not have experience in the field, but defended the involvement of the state firm and said it will help protect the state government’s interest.
“Qhazanah Sabah and the state government are not paying a single sen for the study on the Kota Kinabalu International Airport relocation plan,” he said during Question Time at the state assembly here today.
He was responding to Sabah opposition leader Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal (Senallang-Warisan) who had asked what experience the appointed companies possessed and the cost incurred for the airport relocation study.
Earlier, Assistant Minister in the Chief Minister’s Department Datuk Abidin Madingkir in answering questions from the floor said Qhazanah Sabah and Berjaya Land had received the nod from the state to study the relocation of the international airport.
This came in view of how up to 36 million passengers will go through the airport annually by 2035.
“Expansion of the current airport in Putatan (Petagas) will see the current capacity of 9.4 million passengers hit only 18 million passengers a year.
“So, it is better for us to plan now before the airport gets really congested,” he added.
In defence of the airport relocation, Madingkir said the people would complain now but eventually accept the relocation, similar to the relocation of Kuala Lumpur International Airport in the peninsula from Subang to Sepang.
In a statement over the signing of the memorandum of understanding on the relocation of KKIA, Qhazanah Sabah said the nature of the study covers the relocation of the airport, construction and development of a new airport, and other sustainable plans deemed suitable along with the development. – The Vibes, July 20, 2022
