Projek Naik Taraf Lapangan Terbang P.Pinang Mampu Tampung Lima Juta Penumpang

GEORGE TOWN: Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa Pulau Pinang (PIA) yang sedang dinaik taraf dengan kos RM250 juta dijangka mampu menampung sehingga lima juta penumpang apabila siap pada Jun 2012.

Pengurus Besar Kanan (Operasi) Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad Datuk Azmi Murad berkata kerja-kerja menaik taraf yang bermula Jun lepas melibatkan tiga fasa utama dan kini telah 14 peratus siap.

Fasa pertama melibatkan infrastruktur utama dan utiliti, fasa kedua melibatkan bangunan utama terminal dan fasa ketiga membabitkan penaiktarafan kemudahan di kawasan kapal terbang, katanya di sini pada Rabu.

Beliau berkata demikian kepada pemberita selepas menyampaikan taklimat ringkas mengenai perkembangan projek naik taraf tersebut selain membawa wakil media melawat bahagian PIA yang terlibat dengan projek berkenaan.

"Kerja-kerja menaik taraf ini juga bertujuan untuk memaksimakan jumlah penumpang khususnya ketika waktu puncak iaitu dari 1,300 ke 2,000 penumpang per jam, menambah bilangan lot tempat kereta dari 1,200 ke 2,000.

"Tempat tuntutan bagasi juga ditambah daripada tiga kepada enam, menambah laluan di bahagian menurunkan penumpang di balai berlepas daripada dua kepada empat laluan, serta menambah bilangan tandas awam," katanya.

Selain itu katanya, kemudahan pemeriksaan bagasi di laluan daftar masuk juga terlibat dalam projek tersebut bagi melancarkan pendaftaran penumpang.

"Sebelum ini penumpang perlu melalui proses pemeriksaan bagasi dahulu sebelum mendaftar masuk tetapi apabila siap nanti pemeriksaan bagasi akan dilakukan ketika daftar masuk," katanya.

Beliau berkata sebagai langkah keselamatan PIA juga akan menaik taraf tempat menunggu dan laluan bagi penumpang domestik dan antarabangsa selain turut menambah bilangan kaunter untuk pemeriksaan imigresen, kastam dan pemeriksaan keselamatan.

"Yang penting apabila siap kelak PIA akan mempunyai 14 tempat letak pesawat berbanding sekarang hanya ada 11 sahaja," katanya.

SOURCE: MStar Online/BERNAMA | 29 December 2010 | 

Pusat mahu majukan P. Pinang hab penting rantau

Najib Tun Razak tertarik dengan model wajah baru Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa Bayan Lepas semasa menghadiri majlis pecah tanah bangunan terminal baru di Pulau Pinang, semalam. Beliau diberi penerangan oleh Pengarah Urusan Malaysia Airport, Tan Sri Bashir Ahmad sambil diperhatikan oleh Menteri Pengangkutan, Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha (dua dari kanan) dan Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri, Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop (kanan). - bernama

PULAU PINANG 20 Dis. - Kerajaan Persekutuan akan memajukan Pulau Pinang sebagai hab terpenting di rantau ini bagi merancakkan pertumbuhan ekonomi negara, kata Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
Perdana Menteri berkata, untuk mencapai tujuan tersebut, sebanyak 10 projek infrastruktur dikenal pasti sedang dan bakal dilaksanakan di negeri ini.
Katanya, projek berkenaan termasuk pembesaran Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa Bayan Lepas, Pelabuhan Pulau Pinang, Jambatan Pulau Pinang, pembinaan Jambatan Kedua Pulau Pinang dan mewujudkan Koridor Multimedia.

''Strategi pembangunan yang dilaksanakan di Pulau Pinang termasuk pembesaran lapangan terbang bukan sahaja mampu mewujudkan rangsangan terhadap ekonomi negara malahan akan menyaksikan lebih banyak peluang pekerjaan dapat ditawarkan.
''Ini antara usaha kita bagi mencapai matlamat untuk menjadikan Pulau Pinang sebagai sebuah hab pilihan di rantau ini.

"Usaha ini amat penting dilaksanakan kerana ia mampu memberikan impak tinggi kepada pertumbuhan ekonomi negara," katanya ketika berucap pada majlis pecah tanah terminal baru Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa Bayan Lepas sini hari ini.
Projek bernilai RM250 juta itu dijadual siap sepenuhnya pada Jun 2012.
Menurut Perdana Menteri, kerja naik taraf berkenaan merupakan satu langkah ke hadapan untuk menjadikan Pulau Pinang sebagai sebuah destinasi pilihan bukan sahaja dari segi pelaburan malahan pelancongan.
Jelas beliau, ia amat penting kerana perhubungan merupakan satu wahana komunikasi utama bagi pembangunan sesebuah negara terutama pada masa ini.

''Sehingga November tahun ini, pergerakan penumpang di 39 lapangan terbang di seluruh negara meningkat 13.7 peratus iaitu sebanyak 52.1 juta penumpang. "Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa Bayan Lepas sendiri menyaksikan peningkatan sebanyak 26.4 peratus iaitu sebanyak 3.7 juta penumpang dalam tempoh sama.

''Daripada statistik tersebut, apa yang dilihat, kerja-kerja menaik taraf lapangan terbang ini mampu menyokong objektif negara untuk meningkatkan pendapatan pelancongan daripada RM53 bilion tahun lalu kepada RM168 bilion menjelang 2020," katanya.Menurut beliau, peruntukan kerajaan juga sentiasa diagihkan mengikut perspektif nasional iaitu apa yang baik untuk masyarakat secara keseluruhannya.

SOURCE: Utusan Malaysia | 21 December 2010 |

State to get more flights from Macau and China

MALACCA: The Malacca International Airport in Batu Berendam is greeting its maiden arrival of a Boeing 737-500 flight carrying 120 passengers recently.It is the first Riau Air flight of this capacity. The airline has been been operating daily flights between Pekan Baru in Indonesia and Malacca using the Fokker 50, carrying 50 passengers, since early this year. Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam said the state government would work at getting more special flights from Macau and China to Malacca.

Busier times ahead: Filepic is showing a small passenger aircraft arriving from Indonesia at the Malacca International Airport.

 

He said the state was expected to receive as many as 10 million tourists compared with 8.9 million last year. Up to October this year, he said Malacca had seen 7.8 million tourist arrivals and another 2.2 million were expected in the final two months of 2010.

“The number of tourists has risen considerably since Malacca was declared a World Heritage Site in July 2008,” he said in his speech at the ‘Session with Eminent Personalities’ organised by the Institute of Management and Integrity (Inspim) Malacca recently. Also present was guest-of-honour Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen.

The international airport was opened by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak in February following upgrading works involving its terminal facilities and runway. Covering 7,000sqm, the airport’s new terminal has facilities to handle domestic and international flights and can handle 1.5 million passengers annually.

Dr Ng told a news conference later that Malacca received an allocation of RM157.2mil for a two-year period under the 10th Malaysia Plan (10MP), which was 46% of the total allocation of RM340mil under the tourism implementation programme.

“This allocation is in recognition of Malacca’s importance as a prime tourist destination,” she said. At the same function, Dr Ng also announced five main projects under 10MP, which included upgrading of facilities at the Ayer Keroh Botanical Park costing RM30mil, developing the Tasik Chin Chin area in Jasin (RM25mil) and building infrastructure for the cable car in Bandar Hilir (RM49mil).The two others are the monorail phase two project along Sungai Malacca (RM13.2mil) and the development of the Hang Tuah village along the Duyung River (RM40mil).

Meanwhile, Mohd Ali said Malacca planned to hold a Baba-Nyonya International Festival for the first time next year to attract more tourists to the state.He said the Casa del Rio boutique hotel in Bandar Hilir, expected to be ready by April 2011, would be the main venue for the festival showcasing the culture, traditions, fashion and food of the Baba-Nyonya community.

Organised with the cooperation of the Tourism Ministry, the festival will also invite the participation of Penang, Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand which also have such a community. — Bernama

SOURCE: The Star Online (South & East) | 6 December 2010 |   

26-08-10: Fuel depot facilities to be built at Malacca International Airport

Thursday August 26, 2010

Fuel depot facilities to be built at Malacca International Airport

BY CINDY TAN
malacca@thestar.com.my

MALACCA: Efforts to fully utilise the Malacca International Airport in Batu Berendam received a much-needed boost following plans to build fuel depot facilities at the airport.Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam said work on the depot is scheduled to begin next month and is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

“The State Economic Development Corporation (SEDC) has started a joint venture through Malacca Oil and Gas Sdn Bhd to oversee the completion of the project,” he said after officiating the Melaka Maju 2010 Seminar at MITC in Ayer Keroh.

He added that at the moment, the airport can only cater to the refuelling of smaller planes such as Fokkers and ATR aircrafts capable of transporting 40 and 72 passengers.“We hope that with the completion of the refuelling depot we can see the arrival of larger aircrafts such as Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 and more international flights,” he said, adding that he hoped that Eastern China Airlines could introduce chartered flights to China five times a month.

Earlier, Mohd Ali had proposed for the Eastern China Airlines to ply their route here from September but the plan had hit a snag as there were no refuelling facilities for larger airplanes.“We hope the airlines can start as soon as the refuelling depot is completed,” he said.The airport had undergone a RM131mil project to extend the runway with a second extension and upgrading works carried out to enable it to cater to Boeing 737A and Airbus 320A.

Covering and area of 7,000sq m, the Batu Berendam airport’s new terminal has facilities for domestic and international flights and can handle about 1.5 million passengers annually.

Source: The Star Online (South & East), 26 August 2010.

28-07-10: Rep fears Malacca airport becoming ‘white elephant’

Wednesday July 28, 2010

Rep fears Malacca airport becoming ‘white elephant’

MALACCA: An opposition assemblyman has raised the fear that the recently extended RM190mil Melaka International Airport would become a “white elephant” if it is not fully-utilised.

Khoo Poay Tiong (DAP-Ayer Keroh) expressed this concern after the legislative assembly was told that the state government intends to set up Syarikat Melaka Air Sdn Bhd to operate low-cost flights from the airport in Batu Berendam.

“Is Melaka Air being formed because no other airline wants to come to this international airport?” he asked, saying that there were only daily flights by Wings Air and Indonesian-based Riau Airlines.He added that budget airline Firefly had only operated two chartered flights here between May and July.

“I am worried that the airport will end up being a white elephant as there are only three airlines operating here, with one operating just chartered flights.” He reminded the House that Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam had said in August 2008 that low-cost carrier AirAsia would use the airport.

In his reply, state Transport, Information and Consumerism committee chairman R. Perumal said Melaka Air would be managed by state-owned Perbadanan Melaka Holdings.He said the aim of forming the company was to attract more tourists to the state, in particular those coming for the health and recreational tourism sectors.

Khoo was later suspended by Speaker Datuk Othman Moha­mad from taking part in proceedings after he refused repeated orders to sit down.Earlier, the Opposition had attempted to table a motion on the Krubong landfill issue.

“I have asked you to sit down more than three times and you have disobeyed my order. “You are hereby suspended from taking part in proceedings when it resumes tomorrow,” Othman told Khoo who was also involved in a verbal spat with Hasan Abdul Rahman (Sungai Rambai-BN) and Datuk Ab Wahab Ab Latip (Durian Tunggal-BN) over Hasan’s remark against Betty Chew Gek Cheng (Kota Laksamana-DAP).

SOURCE: The Star Online (South & East), 28 July 2010.