KK needs second airport to be tourism hub — Warisan

KOTA KINABALU: Parti Warisan Sabah (Warisan) has lauded the initiative by Sarawak Chief Minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg to build a new Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) in Kuching with AirAsia Berhad.

In a statement here, Warisan vice president Junz Wong expressed regret that Sabah could have been a step ahead of Sarawak had his proposal to the state government in the 2015 State Assembly sitting been accepted in good light.

The Borneo Post reported on September 10, 2015 that AirAsia was asked to temporarily move into the Kota Kinabalu International Airport Terminal 1 (KKIA T1) as the existing KKIA T2 was to be converted to cater to charter flights and cargo planes, while a KKIA T3 was proposed to be built on a 40-acre site.

Junz said the KKIA T3 proposal had turned out to be yet another empty promise.

“As I have stressed before and I will stress this again, having a second airport can only be healthy for Sabah tourism as we can always have a contingency plan for our busy city besides encouraging healthy competition.

“It is also in line with AirAsia's vision to transform Sabah into a tourism hub in five years' time when we will reach the nine million capacity.

“How many more aircraft are coming to KKIA T1? This is a very important question to be addressed with some sense of urgency,” he said.

He reminded the state government that KKIA T1 has no room for expansion. This is a major technical problem that will cause our tourist arrivals and tourism development to come to a complete stop.

“We must visualize and anticipate it,” he said.

KKIA T1 can only accommodate nine million passengers throughput. As of now from 2016 figures; AirAsia has 3.8 million and MAS, Malindo and the other airlines have 3.5 million passengers yearly.

The Sabah government has said previously that the global tourism industry would grow by 3% to 4%, while Asian visitors are expected to increase by around 4 to 5%.

“How soon do you think KKIA T1 will reach its full capacity of nine million? A conservative estimation from AirAsia indicate at the most in five years time before the airport will be packed with nine million tourists arrivals,” said Junz who raised some points for the government to ponder:

* To provide a permanent solution, a LCCT should be constructed with the input of AirAsia on the 40-acre plot of land allocated by the State government adjacent to KKIA T1;

* If MAHB is not amenable to construct a LCCT on the 40-acre plot, it is proposed that KKIA T2 be privatized for development as a LCCT.

Junz, who is also the Likas assemblyman, advised the Sabah government that it is not too late to fix the problem and consider his proposed options:

As AirAsia's proposal is to privatize KKIA T2, it should come up with initial capital outlay to rebuild KKIA T2 into an international airport. The State government can consider a joint venture and get an increase in state revenue from the imposition of airport tax just like Senai airport in Johor Baru.

Let's say that State government has 40% shareholding. The potential revenue could amount to:

Airport tax on two million international passengers x RM65 and on three million domestic passengers x RM9, equals RM130 million plus RM27 million, with grand total of RM157 million. Forty per cent of the grand total would amount to RM62.8 million in state revenue.

In this way, both AirAsia and the Sabah government will stand to gain. It will be a win win situation with Sabah tourism as the biggest winner.

Or, the second option would be to construct a new airport at the 40-acre site of land immediately.

Judging from the track record of Malaysia Airport Holdings Berhad at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), it would take them at least four to five years to complete the airport, hopefully, with better workmanship.

“I would stress here that we should not allow Sabah tourism, one of our top four GDP contributors, to be manipulated or controlled by the federal ministry and MAHB. The Sabah government should take the leading role in determining how Sabah tourism should be developed.

“If the federal ministry do not respond on when the new airport would be built in one year's time, then the Sabah government should push for the privatization proposal.

“In my opinion, the Sabah government should take full control on how Sabah tourism is to be developed, including where, when, what and how things should be run at our airports. We should tell the federal government that this is how we want our airports to be run in the best interest of Sabah tourism,”Junz said.

“As a Sabahan, we must ask ourselves this question. Do we want Sabah to be an international tourism hub? If yes, then I believe the answer is straight forward and apparent,” he said.