Penang to commission airport feasibility study

GEORGE TOWN: The Penang government is expected to call for a tender next month for an airport feasibility study.

Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said the study, which was expected to take a year to complete, would look at the needs of airport facilities in the state.

He added that it would assess the feasibility of expanding the Penang International Airport (PIA), building a second airport in the state, as well as the proposed Kulim International Airport (KXP).

“There are numerous possibilities... whether an expansion of the airport suffices or if there is need for a new airport.

“Everything must be based on facts, figures and growth trends.

“It should particularly benefit the state and its economy,” he said on the sidelines of the 5th Penang Global Business Services Conference here yesterday.

Earlier this month, Economic Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Azmin Ali said the government had received submissions on plans to develop the proposed KXP as a cargo airport instead of a commercial service air hub.

He said the proposals were being studied by the Northern Corridor Implementation Authority, led by chief executive Datuk Seri Jebasingam Issace John.

Chow, however, said he had not heard anything from the federal government or the Kedah government about KXP.

He said even at the recent National Physical Planning Council meeting, which he attended on Monday, the matter was not brought up.

He said the focus was on the expansion of PIA, which had surpassed its capacity.

“We hope expansion works can be carried out soon.”

Azmin had announced that the federal government had approved the construction of KXP, which is a 40-minute drive from PIA, at a cost of RM1.6 billion.

There are also plans to expand PIA, at a cost of RM1.2 billion, to increase its capacity to 16 million passengers per year.