THE government should conduct a fresh feasibility study on the Kulim International Airport (KXP) to check its viability and long-term impact on both Kedah and Penang and its various industries and businesses, said Chow Kon Yeow.

In response to Putrajaya’s approval of KXP, the Penang chief minister today said a location needs to have the right ecosystem to flourish, not just a single facility.

With or without the new airport in Kulim, he said, Penang had always been the catalyst of growth for the northern region, even when it was an opposition-controlled state for 10 years.

“We will continue to play this role. Penang has the climate, infrastructure, ecosystem, talent pool, sustainable living environment, arts, heritage and culture to be a very attractive destination for investments in the industrial and services sectors, including tourism.

”In any case, we receive the news positively because there is also no announcement that the Penang International Airport (PIA) will be shut down.

“We also hope all the plans to expand PIA will also be expedited, as it has been operating above its capacity.

“We learned that the expansion will be a private financing initiative. The private funder may be given concession rights to manage the completed project,” Chow told a press conference today.

Yesterday, Economic Affairs Minister Mohamed Azmin Ali announced that KXP had been given the go-ahead as part of the government’s plan to bridge development gaps.

Costing RM1.6 billion, KXP is among seven high-impact projects in Kedah detailed in the mid-term review of the 11th Malaysia Plan.

There are still no details yet on KXP, except that Kedah had set up a special entity called KXP Airport City Holdings Sdn Bhd to plan, coordinate and manage the development of the airport.

Kedah Menteri Besar Mukhriz Mahathir said last month that parties interested in the KXP project could contact and send their proposals to KXP Airport City office at Wisma PKNK, Jalan Sultan Badlishah in Alor Setar.

Last month, Chow also said that he and Mukhriz had met to discuss KXP. Penang also asked for a copy of Kedah’s feasibility study on the proposed airport.

“When we met, Mukhriz told me it would be a cargo airport. But the feasibility study said it’s both a cargo and passenger airport. It’s up to Kedah to explain.”

Asked about the content of the feasibility study, Chow said it was done in 2013 and contained interviews with some 900 Penangites.

“Some said they did not mind an airport in Kulim, but that is a small sample. We feel there is a need for a new feasibility study. We hope the federal government will conduct the study, and not the private sector.

“Since the airport is a private initiative, the government cannot just take what they say on the project feasibility (without checking).

Pakatan Harapan critics are now questioning the approval for KXP, which is only about an hour’s drive from PIA in Bayan Lepas.

MCA president Wee Ka Siong called the decision a “classic case of political consideration over economic principles”.

He also asked where Putrajaya could find the money for the “unjustified” project.

“We are told that the government has no money but it is prepared to spend RM1.6 billion to build an international airport in Kulim. 

“It is set to be a white elephant because most international flights will fly to Penang and not Kulim. The traffic volume does not justify the setting-up of this airport,” he said in The Star report last night.

Earlier today, Gerakan deputy president Oh Tong Keong also questioned the “sudden” approval for the Kulim airport when it was only last week that Transport Minister Anthony Loke said there was no approval yet.

In a parliamentary reply to Chow, Loke had said the Kulim airport proposal would be tabled at the National Physical Planning Council. 

The council chaired by Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad will be meeting next month.

“But this week, suddenly it is approved. What is going on?” Oh said in a statement.

The Penang Gerakan chief also said Kedah, which has a population of only two million, already had two airports in Alor Setar and Langkawi.

He cautioned that once KXP was up and running, PIA’s status would be in jeopardy.

Positioning KXP as the northern region international airport would cause the airport in Penang to be marginalised “sooner or later”, he said.

“Whether the Kulim airport is a freight or a passenger airport, it will weaken the competitiveness of Penang,” Oh said. – March 20, 2019.