STATE Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Christina Liew was informed by the Malaysia Airports Sdn Bhd (MASB) management that MASB had allocated a sum of RM8.4 million for upgrading the Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA).
A four-member delegation from MASB, led by its Senior General Manager Kamaruzzaman Razali, paid a courtesy call on Liew at her office on July 25, to brief her on the KKIA Optimisation Plan.
She said of the figure, RM1.4 million will be spent on improving the public toilets at the airport, while the remaining sum will be used for other upgrading projects.
These include resurfacing the runway and upgrading the commercial lots as well as the public address (PA) system.
Similarly, Liew said MASB allocated a sum of RM11 million for the optimisation plan for the Tawau Airport.
According to her, the plan entails providing additional toilets, upgrading the check-in area with proper segregation between the international and domestic segments, enlarging the departure lounge, adding more shop lots and covering up the open space for the installation of air-conditioning units.
“I am very happy to hear the good news from Malaysia Airports. The optimisation plan is most timely, given the steady increase of tourists to Sabah after we have reopened our international borders. The plan for both KKIA and Tawau Airport is for the convenience of travellers.
“Work is expected to start this year but implementation takes time. For instance, building more toilets may take six to eight months to complete,” she said in a statement.
Briefing the Minister on the KKIA Optimisation Plan, Kamaruzzaman said the KKIA is the second busiest airport in Malaysia in terms of passenger handling.
“It was designed for a capacity of nine million passengers per annum (mppa). As of June this year (preliminary Year to date (YTD), the airport had handled 3,299,076 passengers with 28,642 aircraft movements,” he said.
Also present were the Ministry’s Deputy Permanent Secretary I Mary Malangkig, Senior Manager (Engineering, MASB Headquarters, KL) Mohd Sabri Abd Aziz, Senior Manager (Operations, MASB Headquarters, KL) Haji Sunif Naiman and KKIA Operations Manager Hassim Duman.
