MAHB expects to name new MD by year-end
SEPANG: Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) is expected to appoint a new managing director by year-end.
Its acting group chief executive officer Raja Azmi Raja Nazuddin said there would be a recruitment and short-listing process before the operator could present potential candidates to the Finance Ministry.
“We will announce it (appointment) in due course. The recruitment process can be shorter or longer. At the moment, we have to get firm confirmation,” he said on the sidelines of the 20th anniversary celebration of the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), here, yesterday.
Raja Azmi said it was still early for MAHB to find a replacement, adding that the contract expiry of its former managing director had just ended on June 22.
Datuk Badlisham Ghazali had held the position since June 23 2014, taking over from Tan Sri Bashir Ahmad who had served for more than a decade.
Despite the change of management, Raja Azmi said MAHB’s business operation was as usual, emphasising its strategic initiatives for airport expansion and the Aeropolis development.
“We will evaluate all the investments accordingly based on the returns and commercial viability for the company,” he added.
Raja Azmi said the company was in full gear to ensure its operations meet highest standards in the third quarter this year.
“Certain facilities will be accessed gradually from this year until next year, especially for the baggage and train system.
He said MAHB would embark on its airport expansion at the main terminal once the capacities for KLIA and Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (klia2) exceeded 75 million passengers.
Last year, MAHB handled about 58 million passengers at KLIA and klia2.
“We have some headrooms to accommodate passengers for the next few years. There are two parts of the airport expansion, including optimisation and digitalisation.
“The combined Terminal 1 and 2 (KLIA and klia2) still have the capacity of up to 75 million passengers,” he added.
Raja Azmi said MAHB was still studying plans to improve its airside transfer at both terminals.
On the passenger service charge at KLIA and klia2, he said MAHB was following what had been gazetted by the Malaysian Aviation Commission for all airports nationwide.
Meanwhile, Raja Azmi said MAHB’s representatives will be signing a few memoranda of understanding at the Farnborough Farnborough International Airshow next month.