KUALA LUMPUR: The Ministry of Finance (MoF) has approved plans to expand Penang International Airport in stages, Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) said.
Responding to Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow’s reported statement that certain issues had hampered the progress of the airport’s expansion, MAHB said it can proceed with the plans instantly.
“There is good news for the chief minister and Penangites as the approval from the MoF to allow MAHB to immediately proceed with the expansion plans in phases has just been received,” its chief executive officer Raja Azmi Raja Nazuddin said in a statement today.
MAHB said it had been working on the project for the last two years.
It had brought in consultants to draw up the detailed construction plans after the necessary engagement with the Ministry of Transport (MOT), Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom) and the Penang state government
“The plans are ready to be submitted by end of July this year in order to obtain the ‘Kelulusan Merancang’ from Majlis Bandaraya Pulau Pinang, after the project has received the necessary clearance from MAVCOM, MOT and Jabatan Ketua Pengarah Tanah dan Galian Persekuatuan as the landowner.”
MAHB is now in discussion with various parties on the options for investment and funding models.
Meanwhile, the company said an application for it to fully fund the project under the proposed Mavcom Regulated Asset Base (RAB) framework had been submitted.
“MAHB is indeed in a position to fully fund the (Penang Airport expansion) project,” it said, adding that it expected construction to start in the first quarter of next year.
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