KUALA LUMPUR – The federal government has no intention to construct the proposed Kulim International Airport despite calls made by Datuk Mohd Suhaimi Abdullah (Langkawi-PN) at the Dewan Rakyat, today.
In response to Suhaimi’s query, Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Hasbi Habibollah (Limbang-GPS) responded that the federal government has no intention to approve the construction of the airport for now.
“The initiative to build this (Kulim) airport was proposed by a company subsidised by the Kedah government and other private corporations.
“This project neither involves Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd nor is it listed under the Transport Ministry,” added the deputy minister.
Following the response, Suhaimi asked if it is possible to get the federal government’s approval to build the airport if the state government manages to find funds for its construction.
In response, Hasbi said that it was required to meet certain aspects such as the annual capacity of passengers to proceed.
“To build an airport, it needs to record 12 million passengers per year and operate until 2023 for the first phase, 16 million passengers and operate until 2042 for the second phase, and 20 million passengers per annum and manage to run until 2052 for the third phase,” he said.
He cited that the Penang airport was receiving eight million passengers per annum before the pandemic and the number has begun to pick up post-pandemic with four million passengers.
Hasbi also said that Langkawi International Airport has yet to meet its capacity for its first phase, so the government is not considering the proposed Kulim airport which has a higher budget than the Penang airport for now.
Earlier, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had said that the plans for the building of an airport in Kulim are not up for consideration.
He reportedly said that the expansion of the Subang and Penang airports is expected to 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. – The Vibes, February 27, 2023
