Waiting for tripartite meeting

Penang to raise concerns on impact of Kulim Aiport project on PIA

GEORGE TOWN: Penang is still waiting for the tripartite meeting with Kedah and the Transport Ministry on the proposed Kulim International Airport (KXP), which was suggested by the Prime Minister.

Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad suggested the meeting during the Mentris Besar and Chief Ministers Conference on Feb 26.

“He decided on the meeting after I told him that the proposed KXP would have a negative impact on the Penang International Airport (PIA),” he told reporters here yesterday.

Chow was commenting on a statement by Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng who insisted that the Kulim Airport would not have an adverse impact on PIA, which has been a logistics and supply chain hub for a long time.

Lim also said that Penang’s airport expansion to manage a 16-million-passenger capacity was in full swing – making it a leading airport in the region – and that the Federal Government was even planning to push for a 20-million-passenger capacity to cater for anticipated air traffic until 2035.

Chow said every avenue was used to voice the concerns of Penang over the Kulim Airport.

“We shall leave it to the government to find an amicable solution to this issue.

“We are still waiting for the tripartite meeting and I will certainly bring it up at every available national meeting,” he said.

Meanwhile, passenger traffic (departure and arrival) at PIA hit an all time high of 7.79 million passengers last year compared to 7.2 million passengers in 2017.

Penang Global Tourism chief executive officer Ooi Chok Yan said the momentum had spilled over into the first quarter of 2019, recording a double digit growth of 10.9% for international arrivals from 407,050 in 2018 to 451,421 this year.

Ooi said the increasing number of visitors to Penang was also attributed to the higher number of direct flights to Penang in 2018.

“Early last month, Firefly started its four times weekly flights from Kuantan and starting July 1, AirAsia will fly direct from Melaka, seven times weekly to Penang,” he said.

He said Qatar Airways would also be increasing its Doha-Penang flights from four to five flights per week starting Oct 27, allowing travellers from more than 160 destinations worldwide to be connected.