Friday, November 8, 2013

Don’t ignore Kelantan airport, PM urged

Kota Bharu MP calls on Putrajaya to allocate funds for the upgrading of state airport in view it is the second busiest in the country and with Putrajaya aiming to transform Malaysia into a regional aviation hub. 

KUALA LUMPUR: Kota Bharu MP Takiyuddin Hassan today urged Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak to consider allocating a budget for the upgrading of Sultan Ismail Petra Airport (KBR) in Kelantan as Putrajaya is harbouring the ambition of transforming Malaysia into a regional aviation hub.
 
The PAS MP urged the federal government not to sideline Kelantan, “just because we (the state) are ruled by a party that is not part of the federal ruling coalition.”

“I hope the prime minister, in his review of Budget 2014, will allocate funds for the upgrading of KBR,” Takiyuddin told reporters outside parliament today.

“After all, tourists who visit Kelantan are tourists who visit Malaysia,” he added, referring to Putrajaya’s Visit Malaysia Year (VMY) 2014.

Takiyuddin disclosed that KBR was the second busiest airport in the country, receiving 1.259 million visitors in 2012 – an 11 percent increase from 1.132 million visitors the year before.

“So you can imagine how many visitors the airport will have in 2013 or 2014 during VMY,” he said, adding that the KBR could only accommodate a maximum of 1.4 million passengers.

He also disclosed that the current length and width of the runway as 2,400m and 45m respectively. “I hope the federal government will consider extending its length to 3,500m and width to 60m as big aeroplanes are unable to land at the runway right now,” he said.

“The Kelantan government has acquired plenty of land which are not used to plant coconuts. They can use that land,” he added.

Takiyuddin then pointed out that AirAsia chief executive officer Tony Fernandes had recently referred to KBR as the next AirAsia hub.

“Therefore, I urged the government to allocate some funds to develop KBR along with the other listed airports.”

During the announcement of Budget 2014, Najib had bolstered the government’s emphasis on the aviation industry as Putrajaya aimed at transforming Malaysia into a regional aviation hub.

The government vowed to upgrade several airports such as those in Kota Kinabalu and Sandakan in Sabah as well as Miri, Sibu and Mukah in Sarawak.

Najib also said the tourism sector was expected to generate a revenue of RM65bil by the end of this year and was anticipated to rake in more.

Source: Free Malaysia Today Online | 30 Oct. 2013

No comments:

Post a Comment