Malaysia Airports To Build KLIA3 By 2023 As KLIA And klia2 Approach Full Capacity
KLIA and klia2 are running out of space.
By John Lim — 14 Mar 2018, 12:54 PM
Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB), which manages most of the airports in the country including KLIA and klia2, is planning to build a new terminal within the next five years
The Edge Markets reported that the group is looking into the possibility of building a new terminal, aptly named KLIA3, within the next five years as KLIA and klia2 are approaching full capacity.
The group's managing director Datuk Badlisham Ghazali said the new terminal will be built along the borders of KLIA's Runway 3 and 4
"We are already putting in plans but we need to talk to the government about which part of KLIA we expand. It requires expansion obviously, because we are growing, last year we did 8-8.5% growth in terms of total passenger count and KLIA experienced almost double-digit growth," he said as quoted by theSunDaily.
2017 saw high passenger traffic coming into both KLIA and klia2, with some 59 million passengers against their total capacity of 75 million passengers.
As of now, the group has committed to improving efficiency at the two airports by upgrading baggage handling facilities and the Aerotrain
The Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia, which was previously known as the Department of Civil Aviation, is also upgrading the air traffic control system starting from this year up until 2019, said Badlisham.
He also revealed that the group is currently looking at possible partnerships with aviation companies and regulators in other countries.
Talks of constructing a new terminal date back to as early as 2015
Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Abd Aziz Kaprawi told The Star Online that the government wanted to leverage on Kuala Lumpur's strategic location and make Malaysia as a regional air transit hub.