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.