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Adam Lawrence

Putrajaya Approved RM1.6 Billion to Build Kulim International Airport

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It might be a little bit more viable if the proposed new Butterworth RMAF base was accommodated at Kulim International.... ;)

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yeah, i think the airport project will help lift the income status of the people there.

 

.......especially if you got some contracts for the construction.

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Personally, I think Kedah wants their own airport so that it can bring in their own tourist/investors without having to use Penang as transit. And probably use it as a transit point for tourist to fly to Kedah. Kedah also planned to have LRT system too that links to its Kulim hightech park.

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Personally, I think Kedah wants their own airport so that it can bring in their own tourist/investors without having to use Penang as transit. And probably use it as a transit point for tourist to fly to Kedah. Kedah also planned to have LRT system too that links to its Kulim hightech park.

 

Well, MAHB's AOR and LGK serve that purpose, or the state government is looking at managing own airport. Why not just utilise AOR, improve transportation links from Penang (adding LRT and bus networks) - state government should promote AOR to passengers and airlines as another alternative to PEN. I think that would cost a lot less than building an entirely new airport.

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..... - state government should promote AOR to passengers and airlines as another alternative to PEN. I think that would cost a lot less than building an entirely new airport.

Perhaps you're missing something along the way - who would possibly benefit/gain anything if it costs less, let alone "a lot less" :D

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Perhaps you're missing something along the way - who would possibly benefit/gain anything if it costs less, let alone "a lot less" :D

 

Taxpayers la...

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This story should die a quiet death, and rightly so.

 

Kulim is within reasonable travelling time to Penang International Airport for business travellers. Travel time should also be shorter these days with the opening of the second Penang bridge. There is no justification for Kulim, with its very small local traffic, to have an airport of its own. Just another case of overly ambitious politicians making noise.

 

If money is to be well spent, then it is Penang International Airport that needs a major redevelopment badly.

 

As for Kedah, there is always plenty of room to upgrade sleepy Alor Setar airport if the state government is serious about providing more options for air travellers into the state. Assuming they were serious to begin with.

 

By the same token, the Malacca state government seem to forget that the world's 20th busiest airport sit at their doorstep.

 

If there is any airport that deserves attention, it's Ipoh Airport. The Kinta Valley region has a sizeable catchment area (sub 1 million or so), but suffer from being neither nor there. In an age of low cost air travel, Ipoh does offer some potential. The upcoming services from Tigerair is a good start.

Edited by geoff.leo

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Malaysian air cargo business affected by competition from Mideast carriers

 

Penang Freight Forwarders Association (PFFA) Air Freight said companies preferred to send their cargo through KLIA instead of the Penang International Airport because of the competitive freight rates offered by the Middle East carriers at the former.

...

 

“MAS and its joint-service cargo carriers are also sending their cargo to Kuala Lumpur to be exported as they don’t have enough wide body aircrafts servicing with frequency the cargo sector from Penang to the United States, Europe, and the Middle-East. “There are premier airlines with wide-body aircraft servicing the cargo sector from Penang to overseas destinations, but their rates are not competitive,” Kalimuthu said. The trucking charges to Kuala Lumpur from Penang are around RM0.20 to RM0.40 per kg, compared to the air freight charge of RM1.06 per kg to ship cargo to Kuala Lumpur from Penang.

 

See more at: http://www.thestar.com.my/Business/Business-News/2015/05/05/Local-air-cargo-business-affected-by-competition-from-Mideast-carriers/?style=biz

 

 

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If there is any airport that deserves attention, it's Ipoh Airport. The Kinta Valley region has a sizeable catchment area (sub 1 million or so), but suffer from being neither nor there. In an age of low cost air travel, Ipoh does offer some potential. The upcoming services from Tigerair is a good start

 

yea, it's a good start for WMKI with Tiger Air flying in, perhaps making Ipoh a transit airport to further places like Bangkok, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Guangzhou, even Borneo? But i think A320 and B738 gonna be the limit the airport can handle, the runway is mere 2100m and further expansion gonna involve land acqusition (that a huge amount of money) . I miss the old days where i see daily flights of MAS 734 in Ipoh airport. by then we can still go to the 2nd floor to watch the aircraft (they have a laman tinjau there), not sure about it now though. :acute:

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Suddenly this issue of whether to build Kulim airport or not reminds me of Dallas-Fort Worth Airport (DFW). The cities of Dallas and Forth Worth had their own airports (though, Dallas Love Field is still operating and recently came out of the Wright Amendment restriction) and were commonly competing each other for a slice of air travel market in northern Texas. But, they finally put their differences aside, and work together to realise a single mega airport that eventually serves both cities. DFW straddles the border between both cities.

 

So, maybe Penang and Kedah governments should put aside their differences and build an airport that straddles Kedah-Penang border, then close down AOR and PEN for civilian traffic. It is for greater good.

 

Just my RM0.02... :)

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Haven't been to Penang for quite awhile but the last time I was there it was about to be upgraded. If the airport can still cater to needs for years to come, good to just keep it and create better connection to Kedah and other northern states (e.g rail). Does not make sense to have so many international airports so close to each other..

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Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) Engineering campus took a long time to be built in the 1990s because Penang, Kedah and Perak insisted the campus to built in their respective state... and at that time, all 3 states were under BN. Finally they settled for Transkrian which includes parts of Penang, Kedah and Perak. And all this for a branch university campus.

I can't imagine how much politicking there will be if a new airport is to be built in Kulim where all 3 states might again demand it to be built in their state.

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Maybe this should be a privately (non GLC) owned airport - let everyone build an airport as long as no state or federal funding is used in their construction and development.

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Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) Engineering campus took a long time to be built in the 1990s because Penang, Kedah and Perak insisted the campus to built in their respective state... and at that time, all 3 states were under BN. Finally they settled for Transkrian which includes parts of Penang, Kedah and Perak. And all this for a branch university campus.

I can't imagine how much politicking there will be if a new airport is to be built in Kulim where all 3 states might again demand it to be built in their state.

 

Thanks for that brief historical insight. I never knew that Transkrian is located at parts of three states. All this while, I thought it was part of Penang only.

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Doesn't help that one is a BN state while the other is a DAP state! There will be a conflict of interest

Ah, but 'that' BN state isn't exactly flavour of the month either nowadays, hence adding to the conflicting interests I suppose :D Edited by BC Tam

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Putrajaya announces RM1.6b for Kulim airport as part of 11MP review

Published 4 hours ago on 19 March 2019

BY KENNETH TEE

KUALA LUMPUR, March 19 — The federal government has approved RM1.6 billion to build the Kulim International Airport in Kedah, said Economic Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali.

He said it was one of five high-impact projects aimed at bridging the development gap between regions as provided in the Mid-Term Review of the 11th Malaysia Plan.

“To face present economic challenges, the government has drafted a new economic policy based on growth, ensuring fairness and the sharing of prosperity which demonstrates the spirit of inclusivity that will contribute to the sharing of wealth between Malaysians.

“A regional development agenda is one of the Pakatan Harapan government’s key promises which will be realised through strategic cooperation of many parties including state governments,” he said in a statement today.

Besides Kedah, other states identified included Sarawak, Sabah, Kelantan, Terengganu and Perlis.

The other projects announced were the development of a logistics and manufacturing hub in Sidam worth RM300 million, the implementation of an impact study for the construction of a petrochemical industrial park in Gurun (RM2 million) and the construction of a digital library in Alor Setar (RM15 million).

Also included were the construction of Phase 1A (Bandar Baharu to Sungai Petani) and Phase 1B (Bandar Baharu to Penang Second Bridge) of the Northern Corridor Expressway worth RM1.7 billion.

According to Mohamed Azmin, his ministry has approved RM1.132 billion in development expenditure for Kedah in 2019, comprising 201 ongoing projects (RM1.049 billion) and 51 new projects (RM82.5 million).

He added Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had chaired the 20th Northern Corridor Implementation Authority (NCIA) meeting for the Northern Corridor Economic Region on March 18.

“At the request of the Kedah mentri besar, the NCIA has also approved the Kasih Ibu Darul Aman programme with an annual allocation of RM30million aimed at preparing basic needs for 5,482 poor families.

“The federal and state governments share the same vision, that is to provide a service to the people and execute the shared prosperity agenda for the sake of development,” he said.

https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2019/03/19/putrajaya-announces-rm1.6b-for-kulim-airport-as-part-of-11mp-review/1734200

Edited by xtemujin

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Penang and Kedah gov are on the same government side

 

maybe there has been a agreement to shift PEN operations to Kulim in the future?

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Penang and Kedah gov are on the same government side

 

maybe there has been a agreement to shift PEN operations to Kulim in the future?

In politics there are no permanent friends. I think the past few years demonstrated that quite well in Malaysia.

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The airport is private funded says Azmin

 

I'll believe him when I see the funder.

 

Last time they say the third national car was privately funded, but it turns out that the "private funders" are Khazanah-owned companies...

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regardless which camp of the government is from, for words of politician, you can take it with a pinch of salt. As they are politicians, that's how far they go.

Initially Kulim airport is said to be a cargo airport, i believe there's no single solely cargo purpose airport in malaysia. Then now they said it is funded by private funder..... next round they might even drag Tony boy in. then if PH lose the next GE, an apology will be issued via social media claiming doing it for the sake for company. Here we go again.

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