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Reports by MARTIN CARVALHO, RAHIMY RAHIM and TARRENCE TAN
ANY proposal to build and upgrade existing airports will be put on hold until the aviation sector recovers under the five-year 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP), says Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong.
During the 12MP period from 2021 to 2025, the Transport Minister said they would only resolve land ownership issues in several areas at existing airports for future development plans.
However, Dr Wee said proposals to construct airports in rural areas would be considered if there were pressing needs by locals living in the interiors.
“We will forward the application to the Economic Planning Unit to upgrade or construct any airport based on the National Airport Strategic Plan (NASP) report,” he said during his ministry’s winding-up speech on the 12MP.
Dr Wee said that under the 11th Malaysia Plan between 2016 and 2020, no new international airports were built or upgraded.
However, he added that at present, three projects were taking place consisting of two upgrading works at the Sandakan airport in Sabah and the Sultan Ismail Petra airport in Kelantan, as well as the Mukah new airport in Sarawak, which started operations on June 17.
Dr Wee also said the upgrading of the Sultan Azlan Shah airport in Ipoh was not necessary as passenger arrivals saw a drastic drop to 199,665 in 2020.
“That is a 78% drop compared to 2019.
“Besides, the Sultan Azlan Shah airport terminal and runway is still in good condition and it is adequate to meet the present operations,” he said.
Dr Wee also said upgrading works at the Penang International Airport, which were being carried out by Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB), would be postponed until the aviation sector recovered.
“Currently, several issues are being looked into, including the land acquisition in several areas in the vicinity of the airport to ensure that upgrading works can be carried out once the aviation sector recovers,” he said.
Dr Wee said to ensure that airports across the country had a long-term development plan that took into account the effects of the pandemic, the NASP study would be carried out at the end of the year.
“This will determine the direction of airport development in Malaysia in terms of physical infrastructure development, airspace requirement, economic and strategic studies so that an airport can be developed according to present needs,” he said.
Sim Tze Tzin (PH-Bayan Baru) interjected and asked whether MAHB was financially able to fund the construction and upgrades of airports.
To this, Dr Wee replied that since the pandemic began last year, MAHB had spent RM140mil every month to maintain 39 airports across the country.
“When there is less passenger service charge collected, it results in lesser income,” he noted.
“In 2019, there were 109 million passengers but the figure dropped to 26 million passengers last year.
“This is a drastic drop. MAHB has no choice but to restructure the cash flow,” he said.
Dr Wee added that studies conducted by the International Air Transport Association estimated that the aviation industry would only go back to pre-pandemic levels in 2025.
Sim then asked if the Penang International Airport would be prioritised for upgrades as the state is a domestic tourism location.
Dr Wee said it would be ideal to upgrade the Penang International Airport given its large volume of passengers.
“But the situation now is that the economy is stagnating.
“Due to the lack of funds, we have to change strategies.
“I also hope for the aviation industry to recover earlier than 2025,” he added.
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