MAHB eyes e-commerce as vehicle for KLIA’s growth
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia Airports Holding Bhd (MAHB) is eyeing e-commerce as a promising vehicle to drive the future growth of the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA).
Managing director Datuk Badlisham Ghazali said ecommerce was flourishing in this part of the world with the growing propensity among people to shop for almost everything online.
“All the integrators are present here.
“We will be courting and inviting e-Commerce players to come to Malaysia.
I believe it can enable the KLIA to achieve strong growth,” he told Bernama.
He highlighted that intra-Asia trade is growing annually by six per cent and E-Commerce alone would be worth about US$ 88 billion by 2025 in Asia.
“E- commerce players are global in nature and we need to accommodate them.
“A total of 3,642 hectares (9,000 acres) has been allocated for eCommerce, meetings, incentives, conferences, exhibitions(MICE) and aircraft, maintenance, repairs and overhaul (MRO)activities.
“Our Five Year Plan ( 20162020) will cover all these three segments,” he added.
Badlisham said MAHB was also positioning the KLIA to take advantage of the phenomenal growth in Asian air travel.
“Just looking at the development taking place across Asia in areas of trade, business and investments, there is considerable scope for growth,” he added.
Substantiating his bullish view on Asia, he said 40 per cent of all new aircraft deliveries would be made in the continent.
“KLIA is very well positioned to gain access to Asian markets with good connectivity to key regions,” he added.
According to MAHB, passenger traffic to and from 18 countries has
All the integrators are present here. We will be courting and inviting e-Commerce players to come to Malaysia. Datuk Badlisham Ghazali, MAHB managing director
recorded double-digit growth and it includes the United Kingdom, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Laos, Pakistan, New Zealand, Oman, Nepal, Mauritius, Kazakhstan and Japan.
ThemainKLIAterminalhandled some 25.5 million passengers in 2016, up 12.8 per cent over the previous year, while klia2, dedicated to low- cost carriers, handled around 27.1 million, a 3.8 per cent increase.
Badlisham pointed out that KLIA had a capacity of 40 million passengers, and klia2, 42 million.
MAHB recorded a total of 88.83 million passengers in 2016 at all its airports in the country, a six per cent growth over the previous year.
Badlisham said KLIA had been set a target of 100 million passengers to be achieved by 2030.
“In our 20- year planning, we intend to launch a third terminal.
“It will be an addition to the KLIA and the klia2,” he added.
Badlisham also revealed that MAHB has been holding regular meetings with airlines and the International Air Transport Association ( IATA) towards strengthening the KLIA's position as the preferred ASEAN hub. — Bernama