SEPANG: Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) hopes to resolve its dispute with Kuala Lumpur Aviation Fuelling System Sdn Bhd (KASF) over the contract period of their airport facilities agreement (AFA) by year-end.
The AFA concession was reduced to 25 years from the original 50 years, prompting KASF — a subsidiary of Petronas Dagangan Bhd — to file a RM456 million claim.
MAHB managing director Datuk Badlisham Ghazali said the concern is on the duration of the contract rather than the RM456 million claim.
“Both parties want to continue the service but it’s a matter of extending that contract. I think that’s the intention, which is to look at the (acceptable) time period.
“KASF wants the fuel supply contract to extend to its original term, which is 50 years rather than the 25 years as per the new contract we signed in 2009,” he said after MAHB’s annual general meeting, here, yesterday.
Badlisham said MAHB is also in discussion with the government to seek a fair solution for both parties.
“There are other ways to resolve this… There was back-to-back understanding between the concessionaire and operator of the airport, which is MAHB and all other suppliers that provide services into the airport,” he added.
When asked if the RM456 million claim would hurt MAHB’s financial standing, MAHB chief financial officer Raja Azmi Raja Nazuddin said it did not foresee any material impact.
“It is an arbitration process and they are claiming for the loss of income. I think from a loss of income standpoint, there is quite a high burden of proof in that context,” he said.
KASF gave the notice of arbitration to MAHB on February 26.
Malaysia Airports (Sepang) Sdn Bhd, which manages and provides airport-related services at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), had entered into an AFA with KASF on September 26 2007.
Under the agreement, KASF would have a 50-year right to operate and maintain the KLIA aircraft fuelling system.
However, Malaysia Airports (Sepang) and the government signed an operating agreement in February 2009 that gave the former the right to operate and maintain KLIA for only 25 years.
On another matter, MAHB chairman Tan Sri Wan Abdul Aziz Wan Abdullah said the board had announced a total dividend of 8.5 sen per share in its financial year 2015.
The dividend payout was approved by the shareholders.
MAHB recorded a lower net profit of RM37.84 million in its year ended December 31 2015 compared with RM663.4 million previously.
Its revenue, however, rose to RM3.87 billion from RM3.34 billion in 2014.