GEORGE TOWN – The parties behind the proposed Kulim International Airport (KXP) have yet to apply for an aerodrome runway facility from the Transport Ministry, said minister Anthony Loke here today.
He said that all the ministry has are speculations and news reports, but nothing formal has been submitted by those championing KXP.
“It is natural that if one wants to conceive an airport, the proposed runaway facility be submitted for approval, but nothing has been done,” he said in Penang today.
Loke added that he is confident that even Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd, which operates 39 domestic and international airports in the country, would reject KXP because it is not viable.
“Look, Kedah already has two airports – one in Langkawi and another in Alor Star. Does it have the capacity for a third?” Loke said.
“The operator wants an airport to be commercially viable before it can take on the challenge of managing one. We cannot afford to be operating one that ends up as a loss-making venture.”
Loke was responding to the questions surrounding the KXP project, which had been left out of the federal government’s Budget 2023.
On February 24, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had said in tabling the revised Budget 2023 that the plans for an airport in Kulim are not up for consideration.
Anwar said that the expansion of the Subang and Penang airports will benefit the economy at a much lower cost, compared to the plans to open an airport in Kulim, which is estimated to cost RM7 billion.
Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor, however, has said that the KXP is an integral part of the mega Kedah Aerotropolis project.
KXP is a private initiative – developed as a high-impact economic project in the northern region, Sanusi was reported as saying.
“It is developed through a private investment initiative, and does not involve federal funding.”
“In this context, the only requirement from KXP is for the cooperation of the federal agencies such as the Civil Aviation Department, besides the Transport Ministry for the approval process," he said in the project’s defence. – The Vibes, March 1, 2023
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