DAP: Why double the cost for KLIA2?

Malaysian Airports is spending nearly twice its RM2 billion budget on KLIA2, when the main terminal KLIA is not even used to its fullest, says DAP.

KUALA LUMPUR: A RM1.9 billion cost overrun in the construction of the upcoming low-cost carrier terminal (LCCT) KLIA2 has come under fire from the DAP.

PJ Utara MP Tony Pua asked why KLIA2 costs almost doubled from an original RM2 billion to RM3.9 billion, and questioned the government’s need to build a transport hub that would be better than even main airport KLIA.

“The KLIA2 airport terminal increased from the original two storeys to the new nine-storey building, costing an additional RM420 million. At the same time, the footprint of the airport…RM670 million extra.”

“There was an increase of RM530 million just for the construction of buildings and government agencies,” he told reporters in Parliament lobby today.

KLIA2′s other facilities, he said, included provisions for the world’s largest passenger airliner Airbus A380s, walkalators, a fully automated baggage system and even a public shopping mall.

Pua was citing Malaysian Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB) managing director Bashir Ahmad Abdul Majid’s claim that the cost increase was for KLIA2 to cater to 45 million passengers a year- a 15-million jump.

Bashir also said that the airport would only be operational by April 2013. Once completed, KLIA2 would be 1.5km away from KLIA, nearer to its parent terminal than the current LCCT itself.

This claim was rubbished by the DAP MP, who said that the current LCCT and the main KLIA terminal cater to only 15.4 million and 18.7 million passengers respectively a year.

He added that KLIA was not even meeting its full traffic capacity, or 25 million passengers a year.

“What is more important for MAHB is to improve…our airport in the region instead of being obsessed with everything big,” Pua said.

According to him, Singapore and Dubai’s airports served more than Malaysia, with 42 million and 47 million passengers respectively.