Finance Minister, Mr Lim Guan Eng says that Penang will likely to get a new low-cost carrier (LCC) airport to serve airlines like AirAsia in the next “one to two years” as the federal government plans to call for a bid by private companies to build it as the federal government do not have sufficient funds to build a new airport for the time being.
Mr Lim said that the current Penang International Airport (PIA) which has a 6.5 million capacity is already bursting at its seams with 7.1 million arrivals.
” So we are forced to find new ways by cooperating with private parties such as AirAsia to carry out expansion works in the nearest time and also build a new LCC. We are also considering expanding the Penang Port through the same way too,” says Mr Lim.
The current PIA last received its upgrade in 2012 and suppose to sustain its need till 2020 with its 6.5 million passenger capacity but the number has shot pass the 6.7 million mark last year and is expected to continue to grow. The state government would now like to see an expansion to handle up to 15 million passenger based on the uptrend of tourist arrivals over the years.
PIA is the second busiest airport in Malaysia after the Kuala Lumpur International Airport and followed by Kota Kinabalu International Airport.
According to Mr Lim, the LCC will be built next to the current PIA and will share the same runway and bidders will have to come in with a proposal and built at their own cost. Talks with AirAsia and Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad has been very positive.
So Penangites should be excited looking forward for this new LCC-terminal which means probably more connections by low cost carriers like Air Asia, Malindo and Firefly to connect Penang to more destinations.
