Published on Star Business: Go-ahead for Sime Darby and MAHB terminals
- PETALING JAYA: Even as Sime Darby Bhd announced it has received government approval to proceed with the proposed private low-cost carrier terminal (LCCT) project in Labu, Negri Sembilan, Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) gave some details of its plans to develop a new LCCT at the KL International Airport (KLIA).
MAHB managing director Datuk Seri Bashir Ahmad told StarBiz: “We still need to provide an LCCT at KLIA for airlines other than AirAsia that will fly into Kuala Lumpur.
“As a GLC (government-linked company), we will talk to the government on our plans for the future, with regards to the LCCT.”
MAHB said it has identified a location of for the permanent LCCT at KLIA.
“The new LCCT location (near KLIA) was selected as it would provide excellent connectivity for both landside and airside transfers for passengers as well as baggage,” it said in a statement yesterday.
As for the existing LCCT, Bashir said: “This was always ment to be temporary, we will convert it into a warehouse.”
On whether MAHB’s LCCT project at KLIA would be scaled down as AirAsia would now use the terminal to be built in Labu, Bashir said: “We will have to see about this when we discuss (this) with the government.”
Sime Darby is also a GLC with its major shareholders being Skim Amanah Saham Bumiputera with a 34% stake while the Employees Provident Fund, Permodalan Nasional Bhd and Yayasan Pelaburan Bumiputera has about 14% each, as at Sept 12 last year.
Sime Darby in a statement to Bursa Malaysia yesterday said its LCCT project was an integral part of its Negri Sembilan Vision City (NSVC) project.
NSVC is part of its Central Vision Valley (CVV) property development project spanning Selangor and Negri Sembilan.
Sime Darby and budget airline AirAsia Bhd had proposed to jointly develop and operate the privately funded RM1.6bil LCCT to be known as KLIA-East@Labu.
Meanwhile, MAHB in its statement yesterday said the terminal congestion at the existing LCCT would ease with the recent opening of the newly expanded international arrival hall and the soon to be completed international departure hall and public concourse.
“To further alleviate the congestion, MAHB has appealed to AirAsia to open up more check-in counters per flight as there are many available at the LCCT.
“MAHB has also urged AirAsia to provide additional ground handling staff for arrival baggage as there are now six carousels at the arrival hall instead of two previously,” the statement said.
MAHB, noting AirAsia’s request for a reduction in aeronautical charges, clarified that the charges were approved by the Government and that this was a matter for the government authorities to decide.
“Any increases or decreases in these charges are within the purview of the Government authorities and MAHB fully respects this.
“It needs to be emphasised that the landing and parking charges in Malaysia have not been increased for the last 27 years.
“Therefore, the issue of high aeronautical charges does not arise,” it said.
Two LCT terminals??
Is this even economically feasible for our country?
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