Cabinet extends MAHB’s operating agreements until Feb 2069

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd’s (MAHB) operating agreements (OA) has been extended until Feb 11, 2069.

In announcing the news at the Parliament earlier yesterday, Transport Minister Anthony Loke said the extension replaced the airport operator’s previous two OAs signed on Feb 12, 2009 with four new OAs -- OA for KLIA, Sarawak and Sabah airports, as well as for designated airports in Peninsula Malaysia.

Group chief executive officer Raja Azmi Raja Nazuddin said the announcement signified the trust that the government has in MAHB to contribute towards the Malaysian aviation industry’s growth and the country’s economic development.

“We are fully committed to continue developing Malaysia as a strong aviation hub within the region,” he said in a statement.

Raja Azmi said the new OAs included the clustering of airports according to regions to ensure that the operation and management of airports in Malaysia can be made more sustainable in the long term.

“The framework of the new OAs will also provide greater flexibility to MAHB in undertaking the necessary development projects or initiatives aimed at improving airport infrastructure and services while providing the government with better revenue.

“Plans are already in place to replace ageing assets, improve inter- terminal connectivity, increase and optimise airport capacity and to digitalise the airport environment to provide better operational efficiency and improve service levels,” he said, adding MAHB was highly committed to making all of its airports Quality-of-Service (QoS)ready by 2020.

Raja Azmi also said several financing models might be considered for various airport development initiatives and was confident that these would be attractive propositions for the capital markets. — Bernama