Airport for me, tunnel for you

Mukhriz and Guan Eng have a go at each other over useful airports and wasteful tunnels.

Hitting back at Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng over his demands for another two airports in Penang if Kedah got a third, Menteri Besar of Kedah, Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir said the additional airport proposed for Kulim would be far more beneficial than the wasteful tunnel project Lim was pushing for in Penang.

He cited that the international airport for Kulim would act as a gateway for the northern states as well as southern Thailand.

Mukhriz also rubbished Lim’s claims that the Penang International Airport could handle Kedah’s traffic saying that the airport was expected to reach its traffic capacity in about three years’ time. This means that although bordering Penang at its southern tip, Kedah would still have to fend for itself eventually.

On the issue of land availability, Mukhriz said Kedah had vast land ready for development unlike the state of Penang where land was scarce.

Lim earlier lashed out at Mukhriz for proposing another international airport for Kedah when the state already had one in Langkawi and another domestic airport. He also said that it was Penang and not Kedah that brought in close to RM19.7 billion in foreign direct investment between 2010 and 2013 thereby rendering it irrational why Kedah possibly needed another international airport to support its needs.