Kedah Will Turn To Private Sector If Govt Loan For Kulim Airport Falls Through Says Mb

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Kedah MB Sanusi Md Nor claims airport experts have found the Kulim international airport to be a viable project. (Bernama pic)ALOR SETAR: Kedah Menteri Besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor today said the state needed RM1 billion to RM2.5 billion in federal government loans to kickstart its RM6.8 billion Kulim airport plan.
He said in the event such funds were not available from Putrajaya, then the state would consider turning to the private sector to complete the project.
The proposed airport, codenamed KXP, is to be located on a 1,700-hectare site near Sungai Petani and is targeted to handle 15 million passengers per year. The state had forecast its first flights to be taking off from as early as 2024.
Sanusi today said airport experts have found KXP to be a viable project, as it would meet passenger and cargo demand from the nearby Kulim Hi-Tech Park and a future industrial park spanning 6,000 acres nearby.
“The project will greatly benefit Penang and Perak, pushing the economic centre which has been often focused on the west coast of the state to the centre of Kedah,” he said in a press conference here today.
According to Sanusi, a study on the airport had already been carried out by Aeroport de Paris Ingenierie (ADPI), a French airports consultant which has overseen the construction of 40 other airports around the world.
Sanusi said the International Air Transport Association (IATA) had also presented a report on the future demand of air traffic up to 2050, making a better case for the construcion of the airport.
He added that the Penang International Airport, currently the largest airport by passenger volume in the northern region, had a single runway and with no more land to add another runway.
In comparison, Sanusi said, the proposed Kulim international airport would have two runways when complete and the provision for another two more runways by 2050 to cater to future demand. - FMT

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