KK Airport back to normalcy by May 1, pledges Kong
Published on: Sunday, March 18, 2012
Kota Kinabalu: The Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA) will resume 24-hour daily operations by May 1 with full completion of upgrading works on its present 792-metre long runway scheduled for end of next month. The latest in a series of assurances stretching to last year came from Transport Minister Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha himself, saying all the parties concerned, including the contractor involved, have agreed upon the deadline. This project's actual progress as of March 4 was 92.66 per cent complete, according to a press release issued in conjunction with Kong's tour at the upgrading work site, Saturday.
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"We are happy to see more positive development in this airstrip upgrading project," he told a press conference at Balai Seri Kinabalu, KKIA.He said in the meantime, the runway still has to be closed from midnight to 6am daily, to enable the runway resurfacing works, adding the opening of the runway would allow more flights, including chartered flights, to come in even during very odd hours of the night. "Today we came up with a solution. We also have the commitment of the contractor, that the runway overlay works on one side which still needs to be increased in height, in compliance with the International Civil Aviation Organisation requirement and with all its guiding lights and taxiways, would all be completed to allow the runway to operate 24 hours by May 1," he said. When we achieve that we will make many people happy, especially the airlines, passengers, Sabah State Government, Tourism Ministry and the tour operators, he added.
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Kong said after the upgrading works for the present runway has completed, the other works, that is, for extending the runway up to 3,780 metres long would commence. He said once totally completed the 3,780-metre long runway would allow a fully-loaded Boeing 747 to land and take off.
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"At the moment, Boeing 747 can still land and take off but on a restricted basis, that is the aircraft must not carry so much passengers and fuel to enable it to take off and land within a shorter distance É so we look forward to the total completion of the whole airport," he said. On the repeated runway extension project's completion, he said as some of the things are very technical in nature because works cannot be carried out simultaneously, it would probably take up to end of the year to have it completed. "But the important thing is that KKIA would be operating 24 hours daily by May 1," he said. Asked how it would be possible for the runway to open for 24 hours daily when the runway extension works still have to be carried out after May 1, Kong said that part (the runway extension area) would not actually affect the operation of the current runway, because it is beyond the present runway. As to what extent the runway upgrading works has affected the flights at KKIA, Kong said: "As far as we are concerned, all the scheduled flights are not affected, but only the requests from certain chartered flights, which normally use the runway during odd hoursÉthat cannot be met."Like those charter flights from Southern China and then going back there in time for the aircraft to be used for normal scheduled flights, he added. He said at the moment, because of restrictions, certain aircraft at the other airports cannot take off when its estimated time of arrival at KKIA would be at the time when the runway is still closed (between midnight and 6am) for the runway works. On allegations that the delay is due to lack of funds, Kong said the Government never had a problem in paying the contractor, Global Upline. On another development, Kong said the Malaysia Airlines (MAS) and AirAsia merger plan is a business decision with an intention of having better cooperation and sharing some of the services for saving costs."Ultimately whether it is a good mechanism or not, I think it is for the two companies to determine." The Transport Ministry is only a regulator and not involved in the matter, as the business decision is purely a management decision of the two companies concerned, he said. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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