THE government is looking at rebranding the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) and klia2 to KLIA Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 as part of a reform exercise, Transport Minister Anthony Loke said. 

He said the names are expected to be changed by the first quarter of this year, after the signing of a new comprehensive agreement between Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) and Putrajaya.

Loke said the cabinet has agreed to the proposed rebranding of KLIA and klia2 to improve their marketability in view of regional competition.

“However, this will take some time as there are administrative matters to be sorted out with relevant authorities that include the International Civil Aviation Organisation and the International Air Transport Association (IATA),” said Loke.

Loke said the proposal is part of major reforms to relieve the burden on the government to build new airports or upgrade existing ones, especially secondary airports.

The agreement between both parties covers operations, management, maintenance and development of 39 airports and airfields in the country, including in Sabah and Sarawak.

“The cabinet on February 2 agreed in principle to the new material terms of the operating agreement (2023) between the government and MAHB until 2069,” he said.

The main thrust of the agreement allows far greater flexibility in the method of funding airport development costs, using either allocations from the development expenditure or any other “suitable investment recovery model” proposed by MAHB.

This will be subject to the mutual agreement of both parties, with the weighted average cost of capital to be determined only when a project is implemented, and is subject to government approval.

Loke said the government has the right to restructure the airport industry by clustering, carving out, divesting, or closing existing airports and terminals, or restructuring the ownership of any of the facilities subject to the mutual agreement with MAHB.

On Monday, Loke announced the regeneration plan for the Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport in Subang, which was to convert it into a city airport and aerospace hub.

Loke said this will be implemented according to a regeneration plan provided by MAHB. – February 9, 2023.