In an earlier article entitled “Penang International Airport (PIA), what’s next?”, there were only a few who supported the idea, even among Penangites.
Perhaps now there’s a dire need to think about an international airport seriously and include this as part and parcel of the Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP)?
In an article in The Staer, it was reported that Kulim International Airport had already been approved, and that a body known as KXP AirportCity Holdings Sdn Bhd had been set up to plan, coordinate and manage its development.
In case everyone is still wondering about the impact of this new development, consider this.
PIA is already reaching its maximum capacity. There’s now a new international airport just 30 minutes away from Butterworth and less than 30 minutes away from mainland Penang.
A new international airport will most probably be loss-making for many years while flights and passengers increase over the years.
Question is, will the federal government be building two new international airports in two neighbouring states and allow both to compete for the same flights and passengers and incur losses on both sides for a longer period of time?
So, new flights which cannot be accommodated by PIA could be started from KXP instead? At this moment, no one knows for sure.
In another article in TheStar, Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow shared a number of concerns about the proposed airport in Kulim in terms of its impact on Penang.
“It had been mooted a decade or two ago, but this time it looks quite serious in that the feasibility study was done and a special purpose company has been set up.”
He added, “And (Kedah) Menteri Besar (Datuk Seri Muhkriz Mahathir) had paid Penang a visit to convey Kedah’s position on two matters, one on the Ulu Muda catchment issue, while the other on seeking our support for the Kulim International Airport. At the meeting, we did not say if we supported or rejected the proposal.”
According to Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir, the Kedah state government had been granted approval to build the new RM1.6 billion airport in Kuala Muda.
Chow said the state government would conduct a study on the possibility of a new international airport by the side of Batu Maung.
A new international airport is definitely needed, whether it’s for the future of Kulim (due to the Kulim High Tech park’s continuous expansion and beyond) or Penang.
The question is how to make both these international airports work together instead of compete against each other.
Hopefully, this “integration” is worked out in advance instead of allowing both states to go solo. By the way, all these will affect the future of the property market too because it’s all about economic growth.
This article first appeared in kopiandproperty.com
Charles Tan blogs at property investment site kopiandproperty. He dislikes property speculators and disagrees that renting is better than buying. He thinks it’s either property or poverty. He is presently the CEO of an auction house auctioning assets beyond just properties.