MOTS to join national committee upholding airport standards
THE Ministry of Transport Sarawak (MOTS) will join a national committee which seeks to guarantee that airports throughout Malaysia maintain international standards in both facilities and service performance.
Minister Dato Sri Lee Kim Shin said the committee will be formed by the federal Ministry of Transport (MoT) and will be known as the National Airport Performance (NAP) committee.
“The formation of the committee is aimed at ensuring the facilities and service performance of airports across Malaysia adheres to international standards.
“My ministry will be part of the committee in ensuring all Sarawak airports are taken into consideration and address airport issues,” he said in his ministerial winding-up speech yesterday.
He revealed that MOTS had taken proactive steps by conducting regular visits to all Sarawak airports and short take-off and landing airports (STOLport).
These inspections serve to provide valuable recommendations for action by the NAP committee, thereby contributing to the continuous improvement of aviation standards and operations in Sarawak, he said.
“I have also highlighted the necessity of upgrading facilities in Sarawak airports and have reminded Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB) of the airport’s role as a gateway into Sarawak.
“In this regard, MAHB will call a tender in June this year to completely renovate all toilets at Kuching International Airport.
“In parallel to these discussions, there has been a significant push towards improving infrastructure at key airports within Sarawak.”
Lee also said both Kuching International Airport and Miri Airport have been identified as having exceeded their passenger handling capacities, requiring urgent implementation of an optimisation plans to upgrade their terminals.
Based on his last meeting with his federal counterpart Anthony Loke, he said these optimisation plans will be the priority projects in obtaining allocations from the federal government under the Fifth Rolling Plan of the 12th Malaysia Plan.
“Therefore, MoT and MAHB have been urged to expedite these development plans to accommodate growing travel demands and enhance passenger experience.
“These upgrades are vital not only for improving operational efficiency but also for supporting Sarawak’s economic growth which is aligned with our development strategy,” he said.