PETALING JAYA: Kedah menteri besar Sanusi Nor has urged the federal government to refrain from issuing statements regarding the Kulim airport until a study on the proposed project is complete.
Sanusi said as the National Airports Strategic Plan (NASP) study will only be completed at the end of the year, any findings from the study released now were not final.
“There will be new developments from time to time that could affect the final report of the NASP,” he said in a statement.
Sanusi was responding to a statement by the transport ministry, which said the government will not proceed with plans for a proposed new international airport in Kulim, at present.
Yesterday, the ministry said based on findings in the NASP, proposals for the airport were found to be not viable.
It said the construction of the Kulim airport would only be considered if the Penang airport exceeded its projected maximum capacity of 20 million passengers per year after proposed expansions, something that is only expected in 2042.
At present, the Penang airport serves about eight million passengers per year. Its capacity is set to be expanded to 12 million passengers per year at a cost of RM1.2 billion next year.
Sanusi said the ministry should not be making any decisions or issuing any statements regarding the proposed airport as the NASP study was still ongoing.
He also dismissed Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s remarks that an airport could not be easily built because the interests of the air force were involved.
According to Sanusi, the issue of national security and interests of the air force regarding the proposed airport were resolved nine years ago during engagement sessions between the related government agencies and the developer, KXP AirportCity Holdings Sdn Bhd.
The proposed Kulim airport, to be located on a 1,700ha site in Mukim Sidam Kiri, Sungai Petani, Kedah, would lie 24km northeast of the Royal Malaysian Air Force base in Butterworth.
Plans for the airport were initiated by the Kedah government in 2014 and Sanusi had recently urged Anwar to set aside his “personal interests” and speed up approval. - FMT
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