Sarawak to look into upgrade of airport facilities

Chief Minister Abang Johari Openg says the airports in Sarawak are international in name but do not possess facilities of international standards.

The Kuching International Airport is one of the airports that need an upgrade to reach international standards.

KUCHING: A special committee has been formed to look into the proposal to upgrade facilities in all main airports in the state, says Sarawak Chief Minister Abang Johari Openg.

He said the committee, chaired by Deputy Chief Minister James Masing who is also infrastructure development and transportation minister, would conduct studies to determine the facilities that needed to be upgraded at Kuching, Sibu, Miri and Bintulu airports and the total cost of these projects.

“I have suggested that Malaysian Airports Bhd collaborate with the state government on whatever upgrading exercise they want to do at our airports so that it will be convenient and user-friendly for our passengers,” he said at a press conference after launching the e-wallet application at the Kuching International Airport (KIA) here yesterday.

Abang Johari said the committee would gather input on various aspects including modern designs for these airports.

“None of our airports are up to international standards. Even KIA is not a user-friendly airport as it does not have escalators like the facilities available at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA),” he said.

“I feel ashamed of the standard of our airports. They are international airports in name but the facilities are not of international standard,” he said, adding that standards at KIA should match those of KLIA and Singapore’s Changi Airport.

The chief minister said the state government did not mind offering assistance in these exercises.

Beside the development of the main airports, Abang Johari said several airstrips including in Sadok, Betong and Tutoh, Miri would also be built at a cost of RM2.5 million. -FMT